THE BEATITUDES || Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
The fourth of the Beatitude series, from the Sermon on the Mount.
Hello everyone,
Trust we are doing well.
Today, we shall examine at the fourth Beatitude and learn how it applies to us.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. - Matthew 5:6, NKJV.
Everyone of us have had the need for food or drink at some point. Perhaps as you read this, you are famished and doing a mental countdown to your lunch break. Maybe you desire a glass of cold water because dehydration has set in as a result of walking in the sun. It is very normal for all humans to get hungry or thirsty at different times daily, whether we like it or not.
Why is this so? It is not like we control the situations in which our bodies make demands of food and drink from us. Yet, we can decide to ignore those sensations, or feed our bodies at such moments. We can choose to give our bodies healthy substances or feed them with things that can lead to its deterioration at the long run.
Whatever perspective you look at it from, this is certain: our physical bodies need food and drink to thrive effectively. The substances we take in help us generate chemical energy that is needed to carry out our daily tasks and activities. When we starve ourselves or allow our bodies to lack the right nutrients, we will be weak and it may lead to health complications in our body systems.
This is also true for our spiritual states. Our spirit-men and souls need constant nutrition and it is our responsibility to quench these desires with the right elements - the things of God.
This beatitude speaks specifically about the hunger and thirst for righteousness. There is an object of desire; it is specific and not random. It is a situation where an individual constantly requires God's righteousness in him. A state where an individual recognizes a lack in him and desires to have God fill him up with spiritual food and drink. We shall thus explore what this righteousness entails and what is used to fill this hunger and thirsts.
What is Righteousness?
Righteousness involves a right standing with God. At the core of it, it involves having a desire to see the truth of God's light being reflected in all situations, whether directly or indirectly related to our lives. It means seeking to do and be a part of God's will. It involves a pursuit of holiness.
It is crucial to note that a pursuit for righteousness and God's Kingdom go together. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus Christ instructed that it was more important to seek God's kingdom first, and its righteousness. What this tells us is that God must be the object of our desires at all times. We know that an acceptance of the salvation Jesus Christ obtained for us through the Cross gives us a right standing before our Maker. However, it doesn’t end at the singular event of the New Birth but leads into a daily outworking of this salvation we have received.
Beyond our day-to-day needs and wants, God comes first. Only when we seek His will first and put Him in all we do, that other things necessary for our living here are given to us. Thus, we must always ask God to reveal His plans and purposes for our lives at every step of the way; in the little and big things, and ensure we align ourselves to Him through total obedience as He shows us His desires for our lives so that we can be in a right standing with Him.
Hunger and Thirst
These words can be used as nouns (i.e. a lack of food or drink) or verbs (i.e. a desire to feed or drink something). In Matthew 5:6, both words are used in the present continuous tenses, which implies that it is not just a past or present event, but a continuing state of being i.e. a person continues to crave God's righteousness.
As believers, we need a continuous filling of God's Spirit. Deuteronomy shows us the importance of God's Word in our lives and how we require it for our sustenance.
So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. - Deuteronomy 8:3, NKJV.
Ideally, our desires to please God as His children should never diminish but increase as we sojourn unto the Promised Land.
This righteousness we seek should also be reflected in us practically. We cannot say we want to please God yet we subject ourselves to worldly ordinances. In a practical way, it involves what we expose ourselves to, where we go to, what we use our time to do, the activities we engage in and so on. Do we claim to desire God yet feed not on His Word or fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the Faith? Do we spend all our leisure doing things that dont add to our spiritual growth? Do we desire a more intimate relationship with Jesus through His Spirit?
Indeed, there may be situations when it seems we are loosing our fire for God. This can be caused by different factors, whether internal or external. In such moments, it is crucial for us to be honest and run back to Him, asking for a revival in our lives, knowing that whatever we ask Him in faith, He will grant to us according to His will.
God Desires to Fill Us Always
Isaiah 55:1-2 shows us God's heart towards those who long desperately for Him.
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.
God is committed to filling those who hunger and thirst for Him, with Himself. The passage above illustrates how God invites all who desire to eat and drink of Him into an abundant feast with satisfaction and delight.
If God desires to fill us up at every point, why do many of us still go after what cannot satisfy us?
In the world today, there are tons of people who live for the now. Many lack the desire to seek God for themselves nor know of Him. Some of us are caught in the web of a search for inner satisfaction from the temporal things of life. Unfortunately, the more we chase and acquire these things , the more distressed and dissatisfied we become. Our souls become weary and dry, seeking quench but finding none in the waters of this temporary world.
Today, God calls us to search our hearts and channel our hunger and thirst to His righteousness, as He is the only one who truly satisfies and gives meaning to our lives. Jesus Christ is the Bread that gives life - both here on earth and the eternal. With this Bread, is the Fountain of Life who is the Holy Spirit. Together, the Triune God is and is the only source of sustenance for any individual on earth today.
May God stir in us a never-ending hunger and thirst for Him. Amen.
Further Readings: Jeremiah 2:13, Psalms 36:8-9, 42: 1-2, 63:1-7, 107:9, Ecclesiastes 3:11, John 4:13-14, Revelation 22:1-2.