Matthew 5:6Amplified Bible
6 “Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
What is it we want more and more of from this life we are told we must live?
Many of us are hungry for approval.
Many of us are starving for approval.
We want our parents to tell us they are proud of us.
We constantly want our employer’s stamp of approval on our work.
We want our friends to think we are good enough to be their friends.
Deep down, this longing for acceptance comes from a longing to be found right and righteous in their eyes and perhaps, even to the same degree, in God’s eyes.
We are hungry for righteousness.
Sadly, we often try to satisfy our hunger by gorging on some kind of junk food.
We want approval from others so badly, so desperately, that we’re willing to compromise and even totally sacrifice even our very strongest convictions.
We want to prove ourselves through our job so badly that we burn out on our career, sacrificing our family, our friendships and our mental, physical health.
We want so badly to be morally acceptable that we build our lives on a system of rules, of looking down on others and sinking into a despair when even we don’t measure up. These foods cannot ever satisfy our hunger for true righteousness.
When was the last time you were hungry? Not just “I could eat something” hungry, but really, actually in need of something to eat?
Maybe it happened while you were in the middle of a long drive, on a long trip.
Or maybe you had just finished a long workday.
There were no Seven – Elevens, or Food Marts or Royal Farms.
Maybe you had no money left for food anyway.
Whatever the case, you know there is a big difference between wanting some food, longing for some food and then really needing it because you are hungry.
Jesus says we are blessed when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, when our longing for God’s will is more than just an interest—it’s all-consuming.
Hungering and starving and thirsting for righteousness means we are desperate to see sin uprooted, we are desperate for justice to flow like a wide raging river.
It means we are stirred up by a perception of “something is definitely not right, Kosher in our Kitchen. It means we cannot easily excuse these feelings away.
We don’t excuse our wrongdoing or try to shrug off the world’s problems, but instead we give all we have to make the world more like the kingdom of God.
We have this enormous sense of emptiness deep within our hearts and souls.
We have no idea what we can fill our hearts and souls with.
We open our refrigerator doors and come to realize – “isn’t nothing in there!”
Recipe books the wife, the mom, the grandma relied upon – are dusty, unused and the recipe’s inside are old and worn out, have long lost their taste appeal.
Old Mother Hubbard and her thrice empty cupboards – a new standard of life.
Not just in one household, but in the neighbors, in their neighbors, throughout their whole neighborhood – everywhere where we can visualize our horizons.
Then, says Rabbi Jesus, “blessed are those [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.”
We can finally look forward to being filled, because God will be faithful in making things right.
He might not give us the house of our dreams or a big promotion, but he will bring justice and righteousness to every inch of his creation.
If that’s what we truly care about, we can’t help being satisfied as we partner with God in his work in this world.
As we look at the Sermon on the Mount, at these beatitudes, we find that it is a masterful presentation of the conditions for entering the Kingdom of God and the characteristics of those who are in His kingdom.
But His presentation is not exactly what the people expected.
He was offering them happiness in a way they had never heard in their lives and consequently it fascinated them, it quickened, and tickled their taste buds.
And by the time Rabbi Jesus was done with His radical words, they were more than fascinated. They were absolutely astonished at what He had said.
They were astonished with the authority he was bringing the message and the daring in preaching it within easy, obvious ear shot of the Temple Authorities.
And so, they taste what their Lord is offering: real happiness, real blessedness, but it is the kind of blessedness that only comes by being a part of His kingdom.
To hunger for the Kingdom, to enter the kingdom, you must be poor in spirit.
And as we live in the kingdom you continue recognize your spiritual poverty.
In order to enter the kingdom, you must mourn over your sin. And as you continue living in the kingdom as a son of God, you will mourn over your sin.
In order to enter the kingdom, you must come in meekness, not pride.
The reality, awareness that a proud, haughty man cannot enter, and once we are in God’s kingdom, meekness continues to be our attitude as you look at God and as God becomes more and more wonderful as you study and learn more.
Awareness, in order to enter the kingdom, you and I must hunger and thirst after God’s righteousness. Awareness my righteousness is woefully insufficient.
With this awareness, with this quickening, and once you’re in the kingdom, we will continue to hunger and thirst for far more of that same righteousness. So, it is both a condition for entrance and a characteristic of living in the kingdom.
Later in his earthly ministry, Rabbi Jesus illustrates how he satisfies hungry hearts. “I am the bread of life,” he says. “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).
Jesus offers us his own righteousness, and God credits us with it (even though we do not deserve it) so we can enjoy the acceptance and approval we long for. (See Romans 3:21-26; 5:6-11.)
The man, Rabbi Jesus, in his teachings from the Beatitudes, offers all those who have gathered an opportunity to feast on the abundance of what He offers them.
Are we feeding on the only righteous food that satisfies our deepest longings?
Psalm 119:1-8Amplified Bible
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
[a]Aleph.
119 How blessed and favored by God are those whose way is blameless [those with personal integrity, the upright, the guileless],
Who walk in the law [and who are guided by the precepts and revealed will] of the Lord.
2
Blessed and favored by God are those who keep His testimonies,
And who [consistently] seek Him and long for Him with all their heart.
3
They do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
4
You have ordained Your precepts,
That we should follow them with [careful] diligence.
5
Oh, that my ways may be established
To observe and keep Your statutes [obediently accepting and honoring them]!
6
Then I will not be ashamed
When I look [with respect] to all Your commandments [as my guide].
7
I will give thanks to You with an upright heart,
When I learn [through discipline] Your righteous judgments [for my transgressions].
8
I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not utterly abandon me [when I fail].
The Bible provides clear examples for right living. Abraham—in his better moments—provides a profound example of trust (Genesis 12:1-7).
Joseph provides a powerful example of faith and faithfulness in adversity (Genesis 39-47).
The author of Psalm 119 provides a vivid demonstration of passion for God’s Word.
The psalmist has treasured God’s words in his heart, and he seeks the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength to apply God’s commands to his life.
He does this despite the many complicated challenges he faces, including the fierce opposition of his enemies. But as the psalmist himself also declares, he is not perfect; he must continue to steadfastly dedicate his life to seeking God in his Living Word and striving to live everyday according to God’s righteousness.
Jesus—God’s Word in the flesh—uses language similar to the psalmist to commend people who want to follow’s God’s way:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
6 “Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.
Although we don’t know who wrote Psalm 119 or how his life turned out, Jesus’ words of blessing assure us the psalmist’s striving to please God is not in vain.
As Jesus promises, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness “will be filled,” “will be completely blessed with indescribable joy,” “will be nourished by the goodness of God – thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies – surely goodness and mercy will follow me – all the days of my life.” – “and I will dwell in the House of the Lord – forever and ever – ALLELUIA! AMEN!”
Are we, like the psalmist, hungering and thirsting for God’s righteousness?
As much as we are, God will satisfy us.
As much as we strive for more – God will nourish us – Give us an IV of His blood.
We can never fully achieve it in our lifetimes – but our hunger will be satisfied.
The Lord is Jehovah Tsidkenu – Our Righteousness.
The Lord is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer.
The Lord is Jehovah Rohi, our Shepherd, and we have EVERYTHING we need!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Loving Father, I long for Christ more and more. I hunger and thirst for righteousness in this world and in my own life. I am so thankful that Jesus clothed me in His righteousness when I trusted in Him for salvation. Help me to nail my self-righteous efforts to the Cross and be guided, day by day, by the Holy Spirit into all truth, to Your praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 