"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be satisfied." Jesus
I was really thirsty yesterday afternoon. I sat in a vacant home I am in the process of helping a client purchase while waiting for a handyman to install a new thermostat. He didn't have the right tools, so had to go home for more. I didn't know it needed batteries, so I had to go purchase them. It was the neverending day that did not go my way. But, I had not thought to bring water with me as I was not planning on being there for very long. The first thing I did when I got home was gulp a very cold Fresca. Man! It tasted so good. I couldn't help but think about this psalm in relation to my thirst. My body needs fluid. It is made up of 90% water, so it needs to be irrigated often.
Hunger and thirst are natural to us. They trigger our bodies to eat and drink. Lack makes us yearn for food and water. Take them away from us for very long and we waste away. Our bodies shrivel and ultimately stop functioning altogether. If we are not sustained, we finally die. So it is interesting that Jesus compares our spiritual needs to these physical needs without which we cannot sustain life. Blessed in the Greek is makarioi. It means fully satisfied. Satisfied are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be satisfied. Interesting, huh?
When our spiritual stomachs growl, it is for the food from heaven. The Bread of Life. When we thirst for something to quench the emptiness, it is for living water. What makes us hungry and thirsty for God? It should be our natural state. Think of yourself on a day when you were famished. Truly hungry, not just craving In 'n' Out. What about a time when your tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth because you were so thirsty. What made you so needy? Lack of food. A dearth of water.
Jesus commends us when we want Him like that. When He is our necessary food and our bodies are secondary to that. Like being in love. All the lovers think about is the other person. Being near. Getting to know the heart and mind of the other person. Hungry....sometimes even aching ...to be with the one you love. Can't get enough of him. Can't wait to see her again. Do we love Christ that way? Yearn for Him because without His presence we are empty? It is satisfying even to hunger and thirst for Him to satisfy us. It is a blessing to want Him so much. To not be able to breathe without Him. Blessed are you if you want Christ with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.
He wants to bless us. So, sometimes we need a push. A reminder of our own dissatisfaction. It is when I have been facedown with a soul depleted and confused that I have learned to be hungry and thirsty for God. When I have realized that there is no lasting joy in the things I push down into my soul to fill a need that God alone can meet. It is like eating too many cupcakes then feeling sick. Too much soda, so I throw up. Overeating the food the world sells - you know what I mean.
The disciples brought Jesus some food back from the city on the day he spoke to the woman at the well of Sychar. "Rabbi, eat," they said as they handed him the In'n'Out.
He wasn't hungry. "I have food to eat that you don't know about." Full from His conversation with the woman. Knowing He had found one He had been looking for and given her a drink. Satisfied with having done the will of the Father. Not thinking about a hamburger just then.
"Did someone bring Him something to eat?" The disciples incredulous that He wasn't carried away with the greasy goodness of the food they had brought Him. Must've already eaten. That was what He was trying to tell them.
"My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to accomplish His work." Plain enough. I want to be hungrier for that than I am for the food on my table. I want to be so famished for Him that His Word consumes me. Really hungry for Him! Really thirsty for the living waters of the Holy Spirit! That the most satisfying thing I will ever do is His will in my life. That I will stay so nourished by His Presence He no longer has to give me reasons to thirst and pant for Him because it is the natural state of my spiritual walk. He wants me hungry. He wants me thirsty. Why? So He can fully satisfy me with satisfaction.
I was really thirsty yesterday afternoon. I sat in a vacant home I am in the process of helping a client purchase while waiting for a handyman to install a new thermostat. He didn't have the right tools, so had to go home for more. I didn't know it needed batteries, so I had to go purchase them. It was the neverending day that did not go my way. But, I had not thought to bring water with me as I was not planning on being there for very long. The first thing I did when I got home was gulp a very cold Fresca. Man! It tasted so good. I couldn't help but think about this psalm in relation to my thirst. My body needs fluid. It is made up of 90% water, so it needs to be irrigated often.
Hunger and thirst are natural to us. They trigger our bodies to eat and drink. Lack makes us yearn for food and water. Take them away from us for very long and we waste away. Our bodies shrivel and ultimately stop functioning altogether. If we are not sustained, we finally die. So it is interesting that Jesus compares our spiritual needs to these physical needs without which we cannot sustain life. Blessed in the Greek is makarioi. It means fully satisfied. Satisfied are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be satisfied. Interesting, huh?
When our spiritual stomachs growl, it is for the food from heaven. The Bread of Life. When we thirst for something to quench the emptiness, it is for living water. What makes us hungry and thirsty for God? It should be our natural state. Think of yourself on a day when you were famished. Truly hungry, not just craving In 'n' Out. What about a time when your tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth because you were so thirsty. What made you so needy? Lack of food. A dearth of water.
Jesus commends us when we want Him like that. When He is our necessary food and our bodies are secondary to that. Like being in love. All the lovers think about is the other person. Being near. Getting to know the heart and mind of the other person. Hungry....sometimes even aching ...to be with the one you love. Can't get enough of him. Can't wait to see her again. Do we love Christ that way? Yearn for Him because without His presence we are empty? It is satisfying even to hunger and thirst for Him to satisfy us. It is a blessing to want Him so much. To not be able to breathe without Him. Blessed are you if you want Christ with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.
He wants to bless us. So, sometimes we need a push. A reminder of our own dissatisfaction. It is when I have been facedown with a soul depleted and confused that I have learned to be hungry and thirsty for God. When I have realized that there is no lasting joy in the things I push down into my soul to fill a need that God alone can meet. It is like eating too many cupcakes then feeling sick. Too much soda, so I throw up. Overeating the food the world sells - you know what I mean.
The disciples brought Jesus some food back from the city on the day he spoke to the woman at the well of Sychar. "Rabbi, eat," they said as they handed him the In'n'Out.
He wasn't hungry. "I have food to eat that you don't know about." Full from His conversation with the woman. Knowing He had found one He had been looking for and given her a drink. Satisfied with having done the will of the Father. Not thinking about a hamburger just then.
"Did someone bring Him something to eat?" The disciples incredulous that He wasn't carried away with the greasy goodness of the food they had brought Him. Must've already eaten. That was what He was trying to tell them.
"My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to accomplish His work." Plain enough. I want to be hungrier for that than I am for the food on my table. I want to be so famished for Him that His Word consumes me. Really hungry for Him! Really thirsty for the living waters of the Holy Spirit! That the most satisfying thing I will ever do is His will in my life. That I will stay so nourished by His Presence He no longer has to give me reasons to thirst and pant for Him because it is the natural state of my spiritual walk. He wants me hungry. He wants me thirsty. Why? So He can fully satisfy me with satisfaction.
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