April 7

Read: Psalms 42:1-2

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).

A Deepening Spiritual Hunger

Yesterday we thought about the disappointed Christian. Today we enjoy the testimony of a man who found his way out of this disappointment. Dr. W. L. Surbrook testifies: “On Sunday night, March 17, 1912… about nine-twenty… God for Christ’s sake pardoned all my sins. At a flash I was born again and at once became a new creature in Christ Jesus.

“With a background of teaching that the Holy Spirit was merely a divine emanation or influence from the Father and Son, light on His gracious work of cleansing dawned upon me slowly… As I walked with Him the best I knew how, He gradually deepened the hunger of my soul. To lead me into entire sanctification, He did not bless me more, but rather ‘unblessed’ me or in a measure withheld the blessing, and to that very degree the hunger deepened. Gradually my soul was filled with an insatiable thirst. With the ebb and flow of His blessings, the thirst deepened and the hunger increased.

“In response to this hungering and thirsting I was again found at the altar; this time I was not seeking pardon, but purity. My soul was not in the dark, and neither was there any condemnation upon it. I knew I was saved and walking in all the light while fellowshipping Him and His people, and yet I knew I needed something more. There was no guilt upon my soul, or stain upon my record, but there was inbred sin within my life that needed to be eradicated.

“It is very doubtful if I sought at that altar over twenty minutes until every condition was met; and, as faith took hold, the sweet, cleansing Holy Spirit purified my heart. As the quiet, assuring evidence came, a sweet restfulness came over my soul, and at once I knew He had sanctified me” (Flames of Living Fire, Beacon Hill Press).