A Satisfying Hunger

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6 ESV

When you are hungry for a meal, what is your favorite go-to meal you enjoy most? The meal that satisfies your tastebuds and fills you up. For myself, I love surf-and-turf. Pair a steak with shrimp or lobster, and I’m all in.

As in previous weeks, this beatitude addresses the condition of the heart. Jesus was not talking about satisfying physical hunger; he spoke about satisfying the hunger of one’s soul.

To hunger and thirst is to have an active spiritual longing. Psalm 42:2 speaks about this longing when the psalmist says, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” This desire is not passive but is fervent seeking.

Righteousness means that which is right or just. It speaks of having a right relationship with God and with other people. Right standing with God is found in the gift of salvation given through faith in Jesus Christ see Romans 3:22.

We are blessed when we seek and long for that relationship with God. That is when we are filled or satisfied, and the pangs of hunger disappear because God himself will fill us. He satisfies us as we spend time in His word, as we serve him at church, and as we share our faith with others.

This beatitude can be paraphrased in this way *“Deeply joyful and spiritually whole are those who actively seek right relationship with God and, in doing so, discover that He alone can completely save and satisfy their soul.”

My hope and prayer for everyone who reads these words is that you have that deep joy and actively seeks God each and every day.

*Excerpt from Got Questions Ministries