BLESSED ARE THE HUNGRY
Matthew 5:6 NKJV
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Our verse for today was taken from the famous Sermon on the Mount. Matthew gives us three chapters of Jesus' teachings. These teachings were radical for that time period and are still radical today. Jesus starts with laying out the ones who are blessed. But the blessed ones were not the rich or the famous. Jesus defined blessed from heaven's perspective, and it was very different from what people define as blessed.
Jesus spoke of those poor in spirit or those who realized their spiritual deficiencies; they are the ones who enter God's kingdom. Blessed are the ones who mourn about their condition before God; they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek or humble; they shall inherit the earth. And our verse for today is: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst.
Hunger and thirst are two of the most basic needs of mankind. Regardless of who you are or your status in life, hunger and thirst are part of your physical makeup. So as Jesus describes these basic human needs, He again brings the teaching from heaven's perspective.
The hunger and thirst that Jesus says will be filled or satisfied is that inner drive to be right or righteous in God's sight. Someone who is not casual about their relationship with God but has a drive that moves them in God's direction. There is something about spiritual hunger that changes things. Spiritual hunger and thirst will motivate a person to seek God and to seek God's will for their lives. Someone with spiritual hunger is a person who does not view Bible reading and devotional time as a drudgery but as a necessity. Someone with spiritual hunger does not have to be dragged to church; they actually want to go. Someone hungry for God and God's ways, according to Jesus, will be filled.
This verse is in keeping with what Mary, the mother of Jesus, spoke by inspiration of the Holy Spirit before Jesus was born. In Luke 1:53, Mary says, "He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty." This was not a contrast between material poverty and prosperity. If that were the case, only the economically poor could come to the Lord and receive good things. And the economically rich would be sent away from God. Nope. This is spiritual hunger versus being satisfied. The hungry are the ones who receive. A person can be wealthy and still spiritually hungry. And the wealthy are not precluded from receiving from the Lord.
APPLICATION
We used to sing a song at the church called Stir Up A Hunger. The lyrics were, "Stir up a hunger in my heart for more of You." Speaking of a hunger for God. What we recognize is that God does not force Himself on us. If we seek, we will find. If we are satisfied, we stay where we are. The big question is, how do we stir ourselves up to be and stay spiritually hungry? I don't know all about this, but I do know that when our lives are full of everything else, even legitimate things, it's harder to be spiritually hungry. We need God's wisdom to know where to trim and how to refocus our lives to stay hungry and thirsty for righteousness. For it's then we are filled.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, being filled with You is the greatest satisfaction I can find on this earth. Show me how to make that a reality in my life. I am hungry for more of You.