Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

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Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, for they will be filled. - Matthew 5:6

What is righteousness? Great question - so glad you asked! ;-)

Righteousness is what God (Yahweh - The Creator) requires, what is Right, what is Just, it's the condition acceptable to God as we ought (were created) to be. Righteousness in a holy way is simply integrity, virtue, purity of life, and correctness of thinking, feeling, or acting. 

When we hunger and thirst for this righteousness it means we're desiring to hear God and to do His will above our own. 

To be hungry means to be needy, to suffer want, to crave something, and to seek out with eager desire. Take a second to think about how you feel when you're really hungry - when you haven't eaten in hours and your stomach hurts, maybe you're a little hangry, and you just really need something to eat. Now turn that into a spiritual hunger - that's what Jesus is seeking from us for Him. That type of pang - we just really need Him right now. 

To thirst means to eagerly long for, and painfully feel our want of things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened. It's not a mistake that Jesus is called the Living Water - we literally need Him to truly live! When we don't have Jesus, we aren't living, we're surviving. 

Physically, when we are dehydrated we get sick in all sorts of ways. And when we're dehydrated and then finally drink water how satisfying is that?! It's the same with Jesus - when we don't stay close to Him, we feel parched, like something's missing. We get sick - in all sorts of ways. And then when we go back to Him we feel healthy, satisfied, and whole. 

As a healthy living coach, the number one thing I see people struggle with is not getting enough water. *sips water* It's a real problem, especially in the United States - the majority of Americans just aren't drinking enough good clean water. I created a 40-Day Living Water challenge to help with this if you, like me, struggle to drink enough water each day. Check it out here - it's free!

It's true of our relationship with Jesus; we will get sick and die if we don't get enough water, Living Water. Through Jesus, we will live forever with Him! Jesus is all we need - He is enough. Revelation 22:17 says: Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.

In John 4:13-14, Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”

"On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been received because Jesus had not yet been glorified. - John 7:37-39

What happens when we desire other things above Jesus?
Our souls die.

Friend, fleshly desires, like fame, money, sex, power, etc) will never ever satisfy you. You'll always - ALWAYS - seek more and more and more... and eventually you're going to find yourself controlled by them and living for them. That's the ultimate sin. God said put no other God before Him. That was a command of Love - when we try to fill our cup with worldly things, our cup will never be filled. Ever.

When we fill our cups with righteous things of God our cups will run over! PREACH!

What does it mean to be satisfied and filled? When we seek Jesus and His Righteousness God says "done!" He fulfills that desire. Why? Because the desire to be truly like Jesus and be righteous like Him is so pure that God will never say no to that request or desire. He's going to give us all the tools, strength, and the continued desire to be like Christ.

It also means to have the fullness of Joy. Psalm 119:174 says: I long for Your salvation, Lord, and Your instruction is my delight. Doing the will of the Lord is in of itself and filling of the spirit. 

I want to leave you with some extra bonus encouragement today, dear one, from Ephesians 2:13 - remember this and keep it on repeat in your brain! Write it down 5 times if you need to: But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.

You are brought near - your desire to be with Jesus HAS BEEN FULFILLED. Keep seeking Him; stay close to Him. If you discover that you've walked away from Him then run back to Him as fast as you can - the Living Water is waiting to fulfill your desire for Him. 


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