Do you even know what you are starved for? Attention? Acknowledgement? Affection? Or is it for meaning? Or purpose? Fruitfulness? Do you feel pursued or are you pursuing? Do you know what’s driving you? And if you discover what ‘it’is … then what? Is ‘it’ attainable? Is it a stepping stone to your ultimate ‘it’? Do you need to reassess you, ‘it’, and attainability? Can you forgo your ‘it’ and realign your thinking to (fill in the blank) which is of equal importance to you? None of those are small questions but they do lead you to what will satisfy you.
As I look around at all the people rushing from point A to point C with a detour to point B, I see and sense a great deal of dissatisfaction. Many times it is almost as if the rushing gives the rushee a sense, at least momentarily, of purpose. But it is fleeting at best. I suspect that an argument could be made that people are seeking a sense of purpose and value in their lives and that the rushing provides a visible form of evidence that they really are involved in the big issues of their life.
Perhaps I’m projecting but I would argue that after the essential needs are filled (food, shelter, safety) that ALL of us seek meaning/purpose and belonging. Those are the two most important areas that many of us are starved for affirmation that we have attained or are on our path to attaining. I would also suggest that if either of these two are thwarted in some way (we are typically the main obstacle), that we feel frustrated or depressed or both and perhaps a myriad of other emotions as well. Sometimes our problem is that we never have identified for ourselves precisely what these words mean to us because our purpose and belonging is personal.
Does any of this resonate or feel familiar? We all need to be involved in the passion (meaning, purpose) of our lives and we all need to feel that we belong. If you are seeking joy and peace, life, fulfillment, etc. you will find it in a life with the Lord. I would further suggest that none of this is possible outside of a personal relationship with the living God and His Son, Jesus. Without their active involvement then, to quote Solomon – all is vanity. And vanity is very like water running through your fingers, it has no substance. So, if you feel you are starved then I would recommend you begin with your relationship with the Lord. From that basis… everything falls into place and you won’t hunger or thirst anymore.
