Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness, For They Will Be Filled
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“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6 (NIV)
Appetite is a sign of health. Just as our bodies crave food and nutrition, so our spirits must be fed as well. You wouldn’t think of starving your body. Hunger and dehydration motivate us to eat and drink. Your body tells you when its hungry and thirsty. If you delay listening for too long, you get weak, tired, and mentally foggy. Your immune system can weaken and subject you to disease and death. If that’s true of your body, what do you think happens when you neglect your spirit? We are spiritual beings that occupy a body. We are not bodies with a spirit, but spirits with a body. One day our spirit will leave this body and return to the God who created us, and our bodies will return to dust. Yet how often we put greater emphasis on the body. In 1 Timothy 4:8 (TEV), the Bible says, “Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future.”
We should take care of our bodies; they are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to honor God with our bodies. The best way to do that is to shift our priority to taking care of our spirit. How do you do that? In Matthew 4:4 (NIV), Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” We feed our spirit when we feast on God’s Word. In Romans 10:17 (NKJV) the Bible says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” For my spirit to grow in faith I need daily exposure to the Word of God. The more I feed my spirit with God’s Word the stronger my faith becomes. Neglecting God’s Word weakens my spirit and ability to resist temptations. It creates distance in my relationship with God.
God longs to fill our hearts and make us spiritually strong and healthy. Jesus said the key to a blessed and happy life was to hunger and thirst for righteousness. When we do, He promised we would be filled! Nothing else can really satisfy our lives. So the question we should be asking ourselves is what do we hunger and thirst for the most? One evidence of kingdom-living Christ followers is that they hunger and thirst for righteousness. The natural man who lives only for this world has no appetite for spiritual things. So, how’s your appetite? Jesus was drawing on an Old Testament promise in Isaiah 55:1-2 (NIV) when He gave this beatitude. It’s a promise to all who’ve tried everything else to satisfy their appetite yet remain hungry and thirsty. It says, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.”
Jesus is the Living Water and the Bread of Life! He alone is righteous. When we hunger and thirst for His righteousness, He promises that we will be filled. That word “filled” in the New Testament means “satisfied abundantly!” What are you waiting for? Come to the table He has spread for you in His Word; come and dine daily! You’ll never leave hungry or thirsty!