Matthew 5:6
This title! I’d love to hear from any one of you about how happy or blessed you feel when you’re hungry. Is anyone happy when they are hungry? And maybe there is a reason that you’ve been told that you get “hangry” when your food cravings aren’t fulfilled. The title of today’s devotion comes straight out of the book of Matthew: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6. In my study of this passage, the context helped me to understand its meaning. Jesus is found giving one of his first major sermons to the disciples at the beginning of his public ministry. There was quite a crowd in attendance as well. Matthew 5:6 falls within a portion of Jesus’ sermon called ‘The Beatitudes’, which are a series of blessings of living in the kingdom of the King. This way of living brings happiness or blessedness.
Jesus spoke to his audience in such a way that they would grasp his message. We can all relate to hunger, right? We all know what it’s like to hunger and thirst for “that” thing; maybe it’s pizza, or ice cream, an ice-cold coke, or tacos, or chocolate, or homemade chocolate chip cookies, or your favorite coffee drink, or fresh-baked bread. Whatever it is, it’s a desire or a craving that you need right now to be satisfied. And, perhaps you're selfishly yearning for other things, not necessarily food or drink; things like prosperity, status, power, attention, health, or praise. We seek to be satisfied by material things, relationships, or influence. We thirst and lust for our sinful desires to be fulfilled. There is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot, a “god-shaped hole”. It’s this idea that humans try and fill this hole, this void, but never succeed at gaining true satisfaction. We just remain empty.
I don’t want to be empty. Do you? Jesus is everything. He is the only thing that truly satisfies. We must diligently and passionately crave Him. Let's reject anything that does not draw us closer to Him. We are blessed to hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Thank you, Lord, for being so lovingly faithful. Help us to hunger for you and you alone.
This title! I’d love to hear from any one of you about how happy or blessed you feel when you’re hungry. Is anyone happy when they are hungry? And maybe there is a reason that you’ve been told that you get “hangry” when your food cravings aren’t fulfilled. The title of today’s devotion comes straight out of the book of Matthew: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6. In my study of this passage, the context helped me to understand its meaning. Jesus is found giving one of his first major sermons to the disciples at the beginning of his public ministry. There was quite a crowd in attendance as well. Matthew 5:6 falls within a portion of Jesus’ sermon called ‘The Beatitudes’, which are a series of blessings of living in the kingdom of the King. This way of living brings happiness or blessedness.
Jesus spoke to his audience in such a way that they would grasp his message. We can all relate to hunger, right? We all know what it’s like to hunger and thirst for “that” thing; maybe it’s pizza, or ice cream, an ice-cold coke, or tacos, or chocolate, or homemade chocolate chip cookies, or your favorite coffee drink, or fresh-baked bread. Whatever it is, it’s a desire or a craving that you need right now to be satisfied. And, perhaps you're selfishly yearning for other things, not necessarily food or drink; things like prosperity, status, power, attention, health, or praise. We seek to be satisfied by material things, relationships, or influence. We thirst and lust for our sinful desires to be fulfilled. There is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot, a “god-shaped hole”. It’s this idea that humans try and fill this hole, this void, but never succeed at gaining true satisfaction. We just remain empty.
I don’t want to be empty. Do you? Jesus is everything. He is the only thing that truly satisfies. We must diligently and passionately crave Him. Let's reject anything that does not draw us closer to Him. We are blessed to hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Thank you, Lord, for being so lovingly faithful. Help us to hunger for you and you alone.
Posted in Devotional