Hunger for God

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

The Beatitudes, are a list of blessings that describe the inner character of those who are true servants of God. This teaching was part of Jesus Christ’s intensive discipleship training for His twelve chosen apostles. The Beatitudes are not merely a collection of unrelated statements. They are linked in an unbroken chain.

The people of that time period were experiencing excessive taxation, denied freedoms, and persecution. The word blessed in the Beatitudes signifies deep, joy-filled contentment and an inner state of spiritual well-being.

To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to possess an active spiritual longing: This desire is a fervent seeking. The servant who hungers and thirsts for righteousness is the same as the one who seeks God’s kingdom and His righteousness before and above everything else.

Righteousness speaks of a right relationship with God. Those who thirst for righteousness receive the water Jesus offered to the woman at the well: “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (John 4:14, NLT).

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled  could be paraphrased as follows: “Deeply joyful and spiritually whole are those who actively seek a right relationship with God and, in so doing, discover that He alone can completely fill.

Prayer:
Lord, I hunger and thirst for a right relationship with You more than anything!