“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, not after honour, pleasures and the things of this world, but after righteousness—the righteousness that can only be attained through Jesus Christ by faith.
Have you ever been starving? Think about a day when you’re on water fast, and you can’t wait to get to the end of the fast. With each hour that passes by, your hunger grows more and more. You feel weak and slightly faint. A meal doesn’t just sound good; it is absolutely essential. Do you know this level of hunger? A kind of hunger that moves beyond desire? Jesus says that this is the way we must hunger and thirst for righteousness. He says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.”
What do you hunger for? Money? Power? Status? Food? None of these things will satisfy you like the righteousness of God can. Ask God to reveal the things that you hunger for, and if those things are not the things of God, ask Him to awaken your hunger for His righteousness; the only thing that can satisfy you.
Water and food are to the body, so righteousness is to the spiritual life. We as humans hunger and thirst not only for food, comfort, money, power, and status, but for satisfaction in life. We search in all kinds of different areas to be filled, to be satisfied, but we always end up falling short. It’s because the things we hunger and thirst weren’t meant to satisfy our hearts that are like a God-sized void.
Some of you reading this message may be feeling empty; you have not been satisfied. You are trying to fill that “God-shaped void” in your life with all kinds of things, but you are left empty, unsatisfied. There is an incredible message of hope for you if you are searching for the answer. Christ invites those who hunger and thirst; those who have no money to “drink of the waters” and “buy and eat.” Our invitation can be found in Isaiah 55:1-2. It says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.”
Beloved, if you are feeling empty, take that emptiness to God. Don’t try to fill it with the things of this world. All these things lead to a deeper sense of need and longing. You will never be filled until you actually turn to the one who can actually fill that void that’s in your heart. In your life right now, what are you hungering and thirsting after? Where is your heart? To thirst after righteousness means wanting to live according to God’s will and His ways instead of the world’s.
As you reflect, I pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal to you the deep places of your heart as you open up to Him. Maybe you’re not hungering and thirsting after righteousness as Christ would like you to be, but there’s no condemnation for you. Christ is inviting you to lay down all the other things that you are currently hungering and thirsting for so He can fill you with what actually satisfies—His righteousness.
Angelisa is a Jesus enthusiast, Worship leader & Christian youth leader. She considers herself to be the old-fashioned type of girl who loves spicy food and belly bottom laughter. Among her passions are singing, working with children, and encouraging others.