For They Will Be Filled
Do you ever feel a longing to be in God’s presence?
Verse of the Day
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Today’s Devotional
There’s always room for more. That’s my motto when it comes to chips and salsa. And pizza. And dessert. I can be physically full and still want more. This verse is telling me that the same rule applies to spiritual growth. No matter how close I am to God, there is always room for more- for a deeper and more personal connection.
What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? Have you ever been so physically hungry that no matter what you have going on, you can’t shake the need for food? There’s this deep longing that needs to be satisfied when we are hungry and thirsty. I think God wants us to have a very similar longing for Him.
We’ve probably all heard people talk about a “God-sized hole” that everyone has, yet we tend to try to fill that void with anything and everything except God. It’s like being hungry and thirsty and being given a cup of sand. It’s not going to fulfill the need. I find it fascinating that God created us with a hunger for Him, we just aren’t always smart enough to recognize our need. Not only did He create us to need Him, He designed our need so that the only way we can find true satisfaction and contentment is in Him. Then, as we receive from God what we truly need, it drives us to long for Him even more, which creates a never ending cycle of placing us in the only position that will continue to satisfy us.
In my experience over the last few months, the more I learn about God, the more I want to learn. The more I bring my struggles to Him, the more He provides. The more I am in God’s presence, the more I am aware of Him and my need for Him all throughout the day. And even with this growth and transformation, I am still so stinking human! That’s the beauty of this process. I will never be anything but human on this planet. So as long as I live, I can continue to experience a continual deep need for God that only He can satisfy.
It’s interesting where this verse falls in the Beatitudes. First, we are to be poor in spirit, which means that we recognize that we are spiritually bankrupt on our own. Next, we mourn. We mourn over our sinfulness and brokenness. Then, we are to be meek – which does not mean that we are cowardly. One commentary states: “The main idea behind the word “meek” was strength under control, like a strong stallion that was trained to do the job instead of running wild.” So as we become aware of our brokenness, and that brokenness grieves us, and we learn to control ourselves with humility, THEN we begin to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Only with a proper understanding of our position can we truly recognize our need for God.
As humans, we are always going to hunger and thirst for something. It could be food and drink. It could be recognition. It could be money. It could be success. Or…it could be God. Today’s verse tells me that when I begin to desire God, then I will be satisfied. That sounds like a great recipe for contentment.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Do you ever feel a physical need to be in God’s presence?
How can you thank God today for the never ending cycle He created for us to need Him, be satisfied by Him, which leads us to need Him more?
How can you hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God today?
How has God filled these longings in the past?
How can you put yourself in the position of longing for God?
Side note:
This verse is the namesake for our website. My prayer is that we can all learn to hunger and thirst for God.