What are you Hungry for?
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
This has always been my favorite verse in this passage. It makes me ask the questions: What am I hungering for? What am I pursuing that my life depends on? What am I so thirsty for that my very soul craves it? Is it things I can buy in the world? Is it pleasures and experiences that make me happy for a moment? Maybe it is attention from important people, popularity and fame?
In this verse, Jesus says you are blessed/happy and content when you hunger and thirst for His righteousness. He was not talking about doing good works or acting super spiritual. He was talking about being made righteous in Him. Walking in a right relationship with the Father in heaven through Jesus’ payment for all sin. Because we live in a sinful world, and not the sinless world God created for us, He made the provision to save us from being consumed by the evilness of the world. He didn’t take us out of the world, but He sent His Son to rescue us here and then keeps us here to display His love for the world. This is true righteousness and what Jesus told us we are to hunger and thirst after continually.
He concludes this statement with a promise to fill those who are hungry, but they are filled up with what they are pursuing. When you hunger and thirst for your relationship with your heavenly Father to be in right standing with Him and not separated, you are giving time and attention to that relationship. Not just any time, but you are giving that relationship priority in your life and that starts on a daily basis. You are so hungry to be filled up with His goodness in your life that you run to Him first thing each morning to receive His renewed mercies and love in your day. You don’t wait until the end of the day when you have been filled up with all the sin and evil around you. You don’t fill your heart and eyes with the passions and pleasures of the world and then right before you go to sleep each night read a quick scripture and give a short prayer. That is not hungering and thirsting for His righteousness. To hunger and thirst for your relationship with Him, you crave Him in the morning, you desire His presence throughout the day, and you take refuge in Him in the evening, then you will see His goodness show up everywhere you go. Psalms 34:8 says Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Lastly, the promise of chasing after His righteousness is, you will be filled. This not only means you will be filled with His Spirit and His fruit: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, patience. You will also be filled with complete satisfaction and victory over every struggle you come up against. Now that’s a promise worth running after.
Today I want to encourage you to hunger and thirst for His righteousness. Don’t fill up with the cares, concerns and pleasures this world has to offer. Instead, fill up with His goodness and learn of Him. Set aside special time for Him each morning to bask in His presence then take Him with you all day long by calling on Him to walk with you through your day. Find your rest and accomplishments in your time filling up with His Word and His love for you, then display that love and satisfaction to all those around you as you live your life here in this world as His minister of grace.
Today’s scripture reading: Matthew 5:3-12
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Daily Dose 