文 / HuSir

　　在传统的讲道或信仰教导中，常常会听到“渴慕神”这个词。这种讲法多出现在布道会上、赞美诗里、查经班中，语言也常常是这样的：“要像鹿渴慕溪水那样渴慕神”、“你有没有渴慕神的同在？”、“每天都要亲近神、读经祷告、参加聚会，这是渴慕的表现。”

　　这些话当然没错，因为它出自圣经，比如《诗篇》第42篇说：“神啊，我的心切慕你，如鹿切慕溪水。”也比如耶稣说：“饥渴慕义的人有福了，因为他们必得饱足。”（太5:6）——这是神的话语本身，是对属灵状态的真实描述。

　　但对许多传统中国文化背景出身的普通人来说，这样的表达常常显得有些遥远，甚至有些“宗教化”。比如，一个不太习惯表达情感的中年人，一位在事业单位拼搏半生的人，或是习惯“中庸”“内敛”“理智”的中国父亲，可能并不理解：为什么要“渴慕”一个看不见的神？为什么要“热情”地祷告读经？甚至，他内心可能隐隐觉得：是不是显得太情绪化、太“神神叨叨”了？

一、中国人理解神，常常卡在“具像化”的错觉里

　　这背后，其实是中国文化对“神”的理解方式和圣经的启示之间的张力。我们中国人从小接触的“神”，常常是道教里的神仙、庙宇里的偶像、年画上的天神，哪怕是文学作品中的“天命”与“因果”，也都是外在的、模糊的、具像化的。

　　所以，当我们听到“神与你同在”、“渴慕神”，脑海中很容易误以为是要对某个“人格化、超自然力量”表达情绪，就像向皇帝献上忠心，或者拜财神求福那样。经常会有无神论的人挑战基督徒：你能让你们的神造出一块他自己举不起来的石头吗？还有，神创造了万物，谁创造了神呢？这样的问题就是在将神人格化的一种表现。而这恰恰是圣经要我们脱离的旧观念。

　　圣经启示的神，不是庙里的塑像，不是政治的父母官，更不是一个贪婪的人格投影。祂是灵，是活的，是光，是爱，是可以进入我们思想最深处并带来释放与自由的那一位。

二、从“神在心中”理解“渴慕神”

　　圣经说：“神是灵，所以拜祂的，必须用心灵和诚实拜祂。”（约4:24）这不是一句高深的话，而是极为实际的属灵真理。

　　换句话说，渴慕神，不是情绪上的热情，而是你心里真正想要活出自由、真实、不再被恐惧和谎言控制的生活状态。

　　举个例子：当你每天面对无尽的工作要求、孩子教育焦虑、社会的不公，你忽然有一天问自己：“难道我的人生就只能是这样？有没有一种可能，我可以活得更轻松、更有意义？”这个问题的本身，就是渴慕神的开始。

　　或者你在面对朋友的背叛、亲人的冷漠时，心中升起一个想法：“我不想再活在彼此猜忌和表演中，我想活得更真实，哪怕代价是孤独。”这一刻，你正在被圣灵吸引，正在渴慕那属天的爱与真理。请继续往下看。

三、内在的神，是你思想深处的光

　　我在多年的属灵挣扎后，有一个深刻的体会：“圣灵就是一个人思想深处没有撒但辖制的自由思想。”这句话看似抽象，其实非常贴近我们的现实。也就是说，当一个人内心没有被恐惧、虚荣、嫉妒、仇恨这些情绪挟制，他可以自由地爱人、勇敢地做选择、真实地面对自己和世界——那一刻，他就是在顺从圣灵的引导。他的思想，就是在神的同在中。

　　今天的很多人之所以痛苦，不是因为没钱、没权，而是因为思想深处被撒但的谎言所控制——比如“你不行”、“你失败了”、“你不配被爱”、“别人比你强”、“你只能靠自己”。

　　而当一个人真正被圣灵光照、自由了，他不再被这些控告所捆绑。即使在困境中，他也能说：“我知道神爱我，我活着不是为了证明自己，而是为了顺服那引导我的主，所作所为荣耀祂的名。”

　　上面所说我们遇到的问题和需要的思考是我们渴慕神的开始，更是让我们摆脱内心束缚，大胆开启思考的开始，思考哪一些是羁绊我们生活或工作等各种关系的撒但作为，圣经中说的“因为凡世界上的事，就像肉体的情欲，眼目的情欲，并今生的骄傲，都不是从父来的，乃是从世界来的。”(约翰一书 2:16 和合本)我们思考问题的上一个维度便是圣经的道理，这些道理让我们知道究竟是那些低维度事情导致的思虑在束缚我们的内心，认识到只有‘撇弃’这些束缚后才是让一个人回到小孩子样式的开始。但不要认为我们可以通过摆脱一切世俗的事情便可让我们安心，出世的作为不值得提倡，耶稣基督在圣经中也没有通过避世来躲避来自于统治者或祭祀集团的辖制，而是借着不断的祷告，按圣父的教导击退了来自社会的一次次试探，比如面对是否纳税的问题、处理行淫被抓的妇人事件，以及迎向十字架的救赎之路等，都是活生生的例子。

结语：渴慕神的人，是活在爱与真理中的人

　　亲爱的朋友，也许你不擅长祷告，也许你还没有读完整本圣经，但如果你心里有一丝“想更真实地活、更有尊严地活、更不被恐惧控制地活”的渴望，那就是神在你里面动工。

　　如果你愿意去体会、去顺服、去跟随，你就会一步步地发现：原来“神”不是某种特定的图像，也不是宗教的口号，而是真实进入你生命的一位朋友、一位父亲、一位引路者。

　　这不是一时的宗教热情，也不是道德上的自我努力，而是人内心对自由与爱的真实追求，是被造的人回归造物主的起点。

　　耶稣对信他的犹太人说：“你们若常常遵守我的道，就真是我的门徒。你们必晓得真理，真理必叫你们得以自由。”(约翰福音 8:31-32 和合本)

　　愿你听见这份呼召，愿你从今天起，不再活在“装出来的成功”中，而是在神的真实带领下，活出平安、勇敢、喜乐和自由的生命。

Longing for God Is Not “Religious Frenzy,” but the Voice Inside You That Wants to Live Authentically

By Hu Sir

In traditional preaching and teaching settings you often hear the phrase “longing for God.” It shows up in evangelistic rallies, worship songs, and Bible-study groups:

“Long for God the way a deer pants for streams of water.”
“Do you yearn for God’s presence?”
“Daily Bible reading, prayer, and gatherings are the marks of longing.”

None of that is wrong—those sentences come straight from Scripture. Psalm 42 says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” And Jesus tells us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)

Yet for many ordinary Chinese raised in a traditional cultural setting, such phrases feel distant, even “overly religious.” A middle-aged man unaccustomed to showing emotion, a career worker in a government unit, or a typically “reserved, rational” Chinese father may wonder:

Why should I “long for” an invisible God?
Why the fervent prayers and Bible reading?
Isn’t that a bit too emotional—too mystical?

I. Chinese Thinking about “God” Often Gets Stuck in a Concrete Picture

That tension comes from how Chinese culture imagines “gods” versus the Bible’s revelation. From childhood we meet gods in Daoist temples, New-Year prints, and legends—external, vague, and physical.

So when we hear “God is with you” or “long for God,” we easily assume we must direct feelings toward a supernatural personality, like pledging loyalty to an emperor or begging the God of Wealth. Skeptics ask, “Can your God create a stone He can’t lift?” or “Who created God?”—questions that reduce God to a finite being.

But the God of Scripture is not a statue in a shrine, not a political patron, and not a greedy projection of human desire. “God is Spirit” (John 4:24) —living, light, love—able to enter our deepest thoughts and bring freedom.

II. Seeing “Longing for God” as God-Within

Because “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24, NKJV), longing is not about outer zeal; it is an inner desire to live free of fear and lies.

Example 1. Buried in endless work, children’s tutoring fees, and social unfairness, one day you ask:

“Does life have to stay like this? Could I live lighter, with meaning?”
That question itself is the beginning of longing for God.

Example 2. Betrayed by friends or chilled by family indifference, you think:

“I refuse to keep acting, to keep suspecting. I want to live honestly, even if it costs me loneliness.”
At that moment the Holy Spirit is tugging; you’re thirsting for heavenly love and truth. Please read on.

III. The Inner God—Light in Your Thoughts

After years of inner struggle I realized:

“The Holy Spirit is the freedom of thought unchained from Satan’s rule.”

When fear, vanity, jealousy, and hatred no longer bind you, you can love freely, choose bravely, face yourself and the world honestly—that is walking in the Spirit.

Many modern people suffer not from lack of money or status but from inner lies:

“You’re worthless… You failed… You don’t deserve love… Others outshine you… You can only trust yourself.”

When the Spirit illuminates your mind, those chains break. Even in hardship you can say,

“God loves me. I live not to prove myself, but to honor the One guiding me.”

The questions and reflections above start our longing and loosen the heart’s shackles.  “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16, NKJV)

Recognizing those low-level entanglements leads us back to childlike simplicity. Yet “leaving the world” is not the goal. Jesus did not dodge Caesar’s taxes or retreat from corrupt priests. Through prayer and obedience He faced tests—paying taxes, defending the woman caught in adultery, and finally the cross.

Conclusion: A Person Who Longs for God Lives in Love and Truth

Perhaps you don’t pray well or haven’t read the whole Bible, but if inside you there is even a spark of desire “to live more genuinely, with dignity, beyond fear,” God is already at work.

If you dare to sense, obey, and follow, you will gradually discover: God is not a picture or slogan, but a real Friend, a Father, a Guide entering your life.

This is not religious hype or moral striving—it is the human heart’s quest for freedom and love, the creature returning to the Creator.

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:31-32, NKJV

May you hear that call. May you leave the “manufactured success” and, under God’s genuine leading, live a life of peace, courage, joy, and freedom.