We all want to be content and satisfied in life. Where do you look to find satisfaction? Family, work, recreation? Jesus says,
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” | Matthew 5:6
When you are hungry and thirsty, food and water is all you can think about. It’s what you set your mind and heart on. You’ll do almost anything to fulfill your hunger and thirst. Jesus says we should have this kind of yearning for righteousness if we want the favor and blessing of God to follow. When we pursue righteousness with this kind of passion and devotion, we’ll be truly satisfied.
But pursuing righteousness doesn’t mean trying to be a good person. Our pursuit isn’t simply following a list of rules or obeying a set of commands. God’s standards and commandments reflect his nature, character, and will. When we pursue righteousness, we are pursuing God himself. When we thirst for more righteousness, we are thirsting for more of God.
The Scriptures call us to know God, seek God, and yearn for him with all that we have.
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” | Psalm 42:1-2
Often this is not where we look to be satisfied. Often we get distracted and pursue the pleasures of the world, thinking they will make us satisfied. Instead of pursuing God’s righteous will – and the Righteous One himself – we hunger for what is outside of God’s will. But nothing outside of God will ever satisfy us. It will only leave us hungry and empty. Only God can truly fulfill the longings of our heart. This is why Jesus came.
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’” | John 6:35
Jesus is the bread of life. The call to hunger and thirst for righteousness is a call to pursue Jesus himself. He alone is the bread of life that will fulfill our deepest hunger. Only in Christ do we find the righteousness that truly fulfills. Come to him and be completely satisfied. Trust in him and find abundant life. Walk with him in the righteous will of God and you will never hunger or thirst again.
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