Heart ChecksSample

Be Hungry

In our fourth Beatitude, Jesus says in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Jesus is saying, “You can experience true happiness if you’ll hunger first for Me and My way of living. You can experience deep, consistent satisfaction.” Jesus is keenly aware of our primary hungers and desires, yet He says, “Keep Me as your Focus, your Satisfier, and all these other hungers will fall in line.”

We have a God-created longing for satisfaction—for life to be fulfilling. God created it to be this way from the beginning. Even in the Garden of Eden, we see there were strong desires in us. However, our God-given desires can get misdirected pretty quickly… they did for Adam and Eve. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying nice things, accolades, and experiences—but when they become our satisfiers, life gets out of order. Always remember—things are for our enjoyment, not our fulfillment. When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we live fulfilled.

Here’s our problem—there is an enemy who wants to tempt us, deceive us, distract us, and lie to us. He lures us with counterfeit options to satisfy our cravings in life. He wants nothing more than to ruin our appetite for God through what this world offers. Fortunately, Jesus teaches us three important lessons about hunger:

1. Hunger for God’s TRUTH.

Jesus is THE Bread of Life. Only Jesus satisfies. Look what He says in John 6:32-35: …“Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” A hunger for righteousness means we fight the temptation and deception of the evil one by knowing and pursuing God and His truth. We find our fulfillment in Jesus.

2. Hunger for God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says in Matthew 6:31-33: “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Let your hunger for Him be first, and you’ll be shocked and amazed at how God meets your needs!

3. Hunger for God’s PURPOSE.

When we live by God’s truth and are filled with God’s righteousness something amazing starts to happen—your divine purpose begins to manifest and flow out of your life. Look what Jesus says in John 4:31-34: In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “My true hunger is only satisfied in God and fulfilling His purpose.” The same is true for you and me as we hunger for God’s purpose!

Today’s heart check: Where is my heart finding satisfaction?

After you reflect, bring everything to God in prayer.