The Glory Hunger

He’s been dubbed America’s Unluckiest Olympian.

During the Olympics of 2004, Matt Emmons held a three point lead in rifle shooting and was guaranteed the gold.

With one bullet left to shoot, all he needed was a 7.2 to gain his second gold medal. He aimed …fired … BULL’S EYE!

Except he hit the wrong target. He had cross-fired, mistakenly aimed at a competitor’s target.

He was awarded a score of zero.

Instead of the gold, he finished last.

Matt learned the hard way that you can nail a target but miss the gold. Thing is, as Christians we can do the same thing.

The Glory Hunger

What fills your glory hunger? Each day, we wake up hungry - not just for food, but for Glory. We must take care to fill the Glory Hunger with God's Word.

Each morning when you wake up, you are like a sharp shooter. You are tasked with the responsibility of setting your sights on what’s most important, on what is ultimate, on what will qualify you for the win, and nailing it.

If you are like me, a hundred and one things start calling for your attention within mere seconds of waking. The to-do list, the kids, the smartphone, the clock, social media, they are all there telling us what to do. We can be like Matt Emmons, nailing whatever we aim at
… but missing the target that counts.

 

Identify the Ultimate Target

 

What would happen if, each morning when the push and rush began, we already knew what our first and greatest target was? What if we remembered our bull’s eye, focused our sights on it, tuned out the distractions, and aimed our first moments of the day at the big black center that brings the win?

 

Nailing the Target Means Knowing Your Hungers

 

When we first open our eyes in the morning, we wake hungry. We are stomach-hungry for food of course; but that growling stomach reflects a soul hungry for unseen things like meaning, purpose, approval, stimulation, and direction. One reason why so many people reach for the smartphone first thing is that it’s a way to fill the hunger.

We just start stuffing stuff in.

We wake up craving satisfaction. Yet the greatest hunger we have is not for information or food but for GLORY – the Glory Hunger. We were born with a Glory tank that only seeing and tasting… experiencing it… can satisfy. Moses knew his hunger well when he cried out to God, “Show me Your glory!”

When we wake in the morning, each of us wakes hungry... not just for food, but for Glory.

 

Until we too understand that Glory is our greatest hunger, we’ll be prone to confuse this hunger for other things and in so doing, substitute lesser glories for the Glory of God.

Romans 3:23 says we have all fallen short of the Glory of God. We have all settled for lesser glories than the One Glory that enthralls, satisfies, transforms, and exceeds all expectations.

In his tract “Soul Food,” George Muller wrote,

“I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit.”

Glory is soul food. It is satisfaction. As Muller says, it is how to get your soul into a happy state.

Seeking lesser glories is like being content with Doritos for breakfast when we could be having steak, eggs, hashbrowns, and all the fixins.

So humor me a bit because I have to ask it. Are you eating Doritos for breakfast?

Once we understand glory is THE hunger that needs to get satisfied each morning, we are well on our way to simplifying our mornings and shooting to win. So let’s look at how we can get that glory tank filled to overflowing.

 

3 Ways to Fill the Glory Hunger Each Morning

 

1. Behold Christ in Scripture

II Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

The first way to get your Glory tank filled is by seeing Glory in Scripture. Develop a taste for it. Learn to recognize it and feed on it. If you do not have a Bible reading plan, I recommend the The One Year Bible.

In addition, you can work in Scripture memory, using these 50 important Scriptures to memorize.

2. Prayer

II Chronicles 7:1 tells us what happened after Solomon called out to God in prayer, “As Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”

God responds to our genuine cries for His blessing. Just as He revealed Himself to Moses, He promises to reward us when we seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) So let’s start asking!

Use these 25 Scriptures to pray in the morning, and pray for the glory of the Lord to fill your day.

3. Adoration/ Praise

Again from II Chronicles, “When the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they praised the Lord…then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” (5:11-14)

Praise brings down the Glory of God. Scripture tells us God inhabits the praises of His people. We are pretty good at corporate praise but have you considered incorporating it into your morning time with God? Try it and see if it doesn’t fill your Glory tank!

The Take-Home Challenge:

 

We’ve talked about our greatest hunger – our Glory Hunger – and given some practical suggestions on how to get that hunger satisfied each day. I’ll leave you with one final tool. If you’d like to simplify your mornings by establishing a Glory habit, purchase a cheap dart board or target. Make sure it is one you can write on.

In the bull’s eye center, write “GLORY.” In the rings around the center, write the lesser glories that tempt you in the mornings.

Then, hang or place it near your bed, somewhere you can see it easily when you get up, as a reminder of your ultimate target each morning. Then make the choice to focus on Glory first through Scripture, prayer, and praise. Make it your habit to be soul happy in the Lord. Nail it at the target that matters most.

If you are looking for help to identifying and hitting your targets to fill your glory hunger, be sure to sign up for the GRACE GOAL PLANNER PAGES below.

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I originally wrote this post Intoxicated On Life. You can view it by clicking this link.  

When we wake in the morning, each of us wakes hungry... not just for food, but for Glory.

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10 Comments

  1. This example of Matt Emmons making the bullseye but missing the gold really made it’s mark on me! I am constantly realizing my site is on the wrong target. I read this post to my kids this morning and they really listened. It’s easy to think that we can “behave ourselves as children of God in this world” only to find we missed the mark, and perhaps Jesus will say, “I never knew you”. Those will be sad words to hear. I want to know Him more than ever, to serve Him, to listen for his leading. I’ll be putting my target near my bed! Thanks!

  2. This is exactly the word the Lord spoke to me for this new year. Really when all is said and done only One thing is needed…to abide in the Word of God and prayer. (Luke 10:38-11:1-15 and John 15:1-8) This is where I seek and find Him. This is where my starving soul is satisfied. It is a daily choice. If you like to look up word in the original language, you will appreciate this. The word Jesus used for (needed) is divined as job, business, and occupation. What is the one thing Jesus said was priority? To sit at His feet and listen to His Life-giving Words. Worship or worshipers is what He seeks. This is the work that is most needed. Without this “first thing” I spin my energy, wording and upset about many things.
    His words to me for the new year are as follows: “Abide here with my at my feet.” Then let’s talk. As you meditate on this throughout the day, my life will flow through you and everything you do will become an act of worship.”

  3. Beautiful and true. I need to be reminded about the ultimate target so often because I so easily find myself swept away by the to-do list. These words hold so much meaning for me, Arabah Joy!
    Jen :)

  4. The whole Doritos for breakfast thing stuck with me! :) Love it! “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee” Ps. 63. Thank you for yet another post that ministers to me. Sharing!

  5. That illustration about the bulls-eye is powerful. I have often prayed that – Lord don’t let me be successful (hit the mark) on something that is not within Your will.
    Thank you for this. What an excellent, deep source of truth and encouragement.
    I appreciate you linking up at Front Porch Inspired’s #FPConversations last week too. I hope you can stop by again tomorrow!
    God bless,
    Anne

  6. Thank you for sharing! I was convicted by what you said about, waking up with a need to be satisfied, but sadly, we reach for our smartphone for that satisfaction.

    I love how the Lord has lessons for us during seasons of our lives. These lessons can be tought over years or during a month or in a week or last a day. He teaches us a certain lesson by repeatedly showing it to us through our Bible reading, our pastor’s sermons, Christian blogs, and through fellow believers, tying everything together seamlessly.

    The Lord used your blog as the Lord’s continuous lesson to me to seek Him in the morning both through His Word and in prayer.

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