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Hunger




Hunger. A word that can be so vast in its meaning and extent. I read a book one time that said that when we are truly hungry, it becomes an all-consuming thought and one would almost drop everything to satisfy that hunger.

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

Question for you. What does it look like in your life for you to hunger and thirst for righteousness? If Jesus himself, the God-Man, said you are blessed when you hunger and thirst for righteousness, what would that look like if played out in your life?

David Guzik, one of my favorite commentators said this hunger is expressed by the following:

A man longs to have a righteous nature.

A man wants to be sanctified, to be made more holy.

A man longs to continue in God’s righteousness.

A man longs to see righteousness promoted in the world.

How are you doing in those things? Is it a cry of your heart? Is it something you are longing for? Are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness to the point where your lifestyle reflects that longing?

Or does it look like something that you just periodically think about? Is it just a momentary glance in the direction of a spiritual snack machine, but then you realize you’re already full on the cares of this world so why spend the time or energy?

See, the beauty of hungering and thirsting for righteousness is that there is a blessing associated with it. That blessing is that you will be filled. And then you continue to long and then you’ll be filled. See, the wonderful thing about God is there is an endless supply. He will make us holy like him (1 Peter 1:15-16). And yes, that is a justification of our spirit man, forgiving our debt, but there is also a sanctification of our soul. Our sin nature, our flesh, wants to do things our own way. But being sanctified is a process of our learning obedience to God’s Word and the transformation of our lives by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2).

Imagine for a moment what it would look like if you longed for righteousness. Imagine if you asked him, prayed, for the fear of the Lord which is to hate all evil (Proverbs 8:13). Imagine if you changed your life in such a way that you were pursuing and longing for righteousness.

What would it look like?
And would you pursue that hunger if you knew that God, the very one who created the universe, promised to fill that longing and meet it?

Would you at least ask him to make you hungry? I dare you to pray and ask God to give you a hunger and thirst for righteousness. But I have to warn you, it’s a dangerous prayer. He listens to that prayer and He loves it. And He absolutely will answer it if you’re daring enough to mean it.

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