“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6, ESV)
This verse, which I have read hundreds of times, jumped out at me this morning because of what the Lord whispered in my spirit after I read it: “Chris…what are you hungry for?” And of course I answered right away: “Lord—I am hungry for You! For more of You!” To which He responded, “But...with what are you feeding yourself?”
Well, that stopped me up short and caused me to consider: What am I filling myself with—in my mind, in my heart, in my spirit? With what do I fill my time, to what do I give the best of my attention, my affection, my devotion? In effect, with what do I feed that “hungry space” inside, in that "spiritual center" that our Creator has put inside of all of us?
I think that’s the space that Jesus was referring to when He spoke those words recorded in Matthew 5:6—when He urged us to be hungry and thirsty, and told us we’d be satisfied. Frustratingly, even after thirty-three years of walking with Jesus, I find it easy to get off track, and before long I'm trying all over again to fill that hungry space with other things: Entertainments. Busyness. Even ministry. Distractions, every one of them, pulling my devotion and my attention away from what really matters, from what will truly fill up that hungry space and leave me completely satisfied.
Is it really any wonder, that when we give ourselves to such things (the Bible refers to them as earthly things, and even lesser things) it really only leaves us feeling, in the end, hollow and unsatisfied? Now, I'm not talking about the "everyday use" sense of such things--there's nothing wrong with entertainment, nor busyness (idle hands and all of that, after all)--but when they consume us? When they begin to define us? When we begin to depend on them for identity, or fulfillment, or meaning? Well, that's another story.
These things are utterly unable to satisfy, or to make us feel full in our heart-of-hearts. Only Jesus can truly satisfy like that, as we draw close to Him, abide in Him, and cling to Him! Only Jesus leaves us feeling completely full (and yet strangely hungry for still more)! Only Jesus can fill up that hungry space—and gloriously, confer upon us His righteous even as He does so!
It's when we take the time to stop, to slow down, to separate ourselves from the Entertainments, and the Busyness, and the myriad other things that we attempt, in our foolishness and fickleness, to fill that empty space with--it's then that we finally gain the ability to recognize just how hungry we are for something real; or, rather, Someone.
So yes, I’m hungry, Lord Jesus. Hungry for righteousness. Hungry for You. Completely and ravenously. Replace my appetite for lesser things, Lord, with one which longs only for You. Fill up the hungry space in me, Jesus! And Dear Reader, I urge you: Do the same!
Word in Faith is a collaboration of Wayne Association of Congregations and Ministers (WACAM), an organization partially funded by the Wayne Community Chest.
