Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”  NKJV

Some time back as I was driving a preacher on the radio said, “People have about as much of God as they want.”  That hit me like a ton of bricks and as I mused on that statement I knew it was true.  I hesitate to take one portion of the Beatitudes for I seem them all interrelated and connected but I will for the purpose of addressing the thought of ‘hungering and thirsting’ for righteous which is for God.

Most of us have declared that we are HUNGRY for God but are we really HUNGRY?  Before you turn me off and disregard what I’m saying consider being hungry in the natural.  Most of us have been hungry and there may have been times we were really hungry but how many have faced the grim prospects of starvation?  That’s the imagery in this statement of Jesus.  This is like the hunger of someone crossing a barren wasteland with no food or water.  They search everywhere for even the slightest morsel and droplet of water and would do anything to get it.  Nothing would be more important than finding nourishment and the water that will sustain life.  Have we been that hungry for God?  Are we that hungry for God?  Before you contend that you do give it a moment and allow the Holy Spirit to address that in your heart and then reflect on your priorities, habits, actions and life.

They shall be filled is the promise!  This word ‘filled’ carries with it the idea of being satisfied and successful is woven into its fabric.  There is a complete dissatisfaction and uneasiness in a person that realizes that they must find food or perish and they become singular in their focus and devote their efforts to that cause.  That is the approach of someone fighting to live but there are those that ‘give up’ and resign themselves to perishing.  Jesus is telling us that if we develop that kind of ‘driving hunger’ for God and His Righteousness we WILL BE SATISFIED. 

There have been times in my life when I had such a driving desire to press into God’s presence that life itself was unimportant and times when I was much less driven.  I have never been faced with starvation in the natural but have seen it and know the preciousness of food to those so affected.  The words of our Lord here and elsewhere are not designed to condemn us but to inspire us to press in to the promise.  Many, including me, are very concerned about the condition of our world socially, morally, politically, economically and spiritually.  That being said I am 100% convinced that along with all our other efforts the MOST IMPORTANT and MOST PRODUCTIVE is making this passage a reality in our lives.  If we so press in to God the resulting transformation in our lives will affect change around us even in the face of opposition.

Nationally the call should be 2 Chronicles 7:14.  Personally the call should be Matthew 6:33 and Matthew 5:6.  I cannot escape the reality that I and we have about as much of God as we truly want.  If we do not there should be such an unsettling in our hearts that nothing can keep us from HUNGERING and THIRSTING as a person facing starvation.  No wonder David said in Psalms 42:1-2 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” NKJV

             Let this be the hour, day, month and year that we become consumed with HUNGER FOR GOD!   May God bless you is my sincere prayer!