How often have you heard that question? How often have you answered, "Yes!"
If you are like me, you may think that "Yes!" is the only possible answer to
that question. In fact, you may be hungry right now. And, you may grow
hungrier as the morning passes by. However, I want to use your physical
hunger this morning to talk about something more important.
One of the most basic of all human needs is the need for food. We all need
food. We need it every day. Without it, we would get sick and eventually
die. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything new. Because our need for food is
so important, our desire for food is very strong. Hunger motivates. It makes
you do something to resolve the problem. In fact, the hungrier you become,
the more that hunger dominates your thoughts and eventually your actions. If
a person gets hungry enough, he may be motivated to steal. He may even
become motivated to kill - just so that he can eat. Hunger is a powerful
desire.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a comment about hunger. However, He
was not talking about physical hunger. Here is what He said, "Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
(Matt. 5:6)
This is a simple statement, but it carries a very deep meaning. Jesus spoke
about those individuals who hunger and thirst for righteousness. However, I
don't think He was talking about those people who are just a little hungry,
but those who are starving. Like the prodigal son who wished he could eat
what the pigs were eating. Like the Lord Himself who had just spent 40 days
in the wilderness fasting. That's real hunger - and its something that
probably very few of us have ever felt.
But Jesus was not talking about physical hunger. Instead, He was talking
about a spiritual need - a need for righteousness. We should all feel this
need. We should all feel a need for God. One of my favorite passages comes
from
Psalm 42.
It reads, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You,
O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and
appear before God?"
(Psalm 42:1-2)
This describes how we should feel about God. It describes real hunger and
thirst. Here is another passage that describes it. "O God, You are my God; I
shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water."
(Psalm 63:1)
Do we have this kind of hunger and thirst for God? For righteousness? I hope
so. If we don't, we need to work on it.
Having said this, I now want to focus our attention on something I said
earlier. Hunger motivates. If you are physically hungry for food, you do
something about it - you eat. If there is no food around you, you find some.
And nothing stands in you way! But, if we hunger and thirst for
righteousness, what should we do? The principle remains the same - do
something! You need to begin by making your life right with God. Spend time
studying His Word. Spend time with Him in prayer. Do what He commands you.
Grow closer to God. If you really hunger for Him, this will not be
difficult. It will not be boring or something you do because you feel like
you should. Instead, it will become something you look forward to. Something
you long for.
Jesus said something else in
Matthew 5:6.
He said that if we do hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be
satisfied. Some of the other translations say we will "be filled". In other
words, our spiritual hunger will be taken care of. This is the promise of
God. Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door
will be opened. Hunger and you will be filled.
Other Articles
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Determined Not to Miss Out
Lets Not Be
Narrow
The Unity in Christ
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