There was something about the mountain air that made one want to inhale deeply…it was like fresh, clear, cold water in the throat.”
–Louis L’Amour (Shalako)
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”
–Psalm 42:1 (NIV)
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“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.” –Matthew 5:6 (Amplified)
I have never truly been starving, but I have been very thirsty a few times in my life. Ask a person who has been starving what it means and he could tell you. How then, do we judge hunger? If we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness how do we do so? Thomas Watson gives us some insight. First, true hunger is a painful thing. As the Psalmist wrote, “They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.” (107:5, NIV) Food and water are required for life. If that is true in the natural, how much more true is it in the spiritual? Hunger is satisfied with nothing but food. The content is important–food is needed, not flowers, not music, not well wishes. Give me a steak!
Watson continues and says that hunger wrestles with difficulties and hunts for food. Man in many parts of the world was a hunting and gathering society. They spent most of their time hunting. Why? Because they were hungry, they knew that food was imperative to life. Oh, that we could grasp that in the spiritual. How much do we search for food in the Scriptures? Why do we not understand that it is imperative to our spiritual life? He then says that the hungry man goes to his food with a strong appetite. You do not have to persuade him to eat. One more thing, though not required, he tastes flavor in his food; it is not bland. Spices and salt are not required, the food has enough flavor of its own. The Bible has its own flavor, it does not need an outside opinion.
“Don’t eat that! You’ll ruin your supper!” Have you ever heard that before? Or perhaps, “don’t eat that, it’s not good for you.” We should avoid things which will hinder our appetite. Sweet things spoil our appetite and can hinder the taste of real, supportive food. Watson states, “When one is filled with a windy opinion of his own righteousness, he will not hunger after Christ’s righteousness.” Stay away from false doctrine though it might appeal to the senses. Then watch out for the wrong type of calories. American youth look healthy because they are getting plenty of calories, but in reality most are not because of the type of calories they are eating. “You cannot glut yourself upon the world, and at the same time be greatly in love with Christ.” (Watson) What music do you listen to? What friends do you hang with? What do you watch on television, movies, social media? Are they the right type of “calories” to help your spiritual nourishment? John tells us, “Do not love the world, or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15, NIV) We should do all that we can to provide a nourishing spiritual appetite. We are reminded by Paul, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8, NIV)
When we eat we are satisfied now, but there will come a day when we will hunger no more. To eat of the world’s bounty is fading, not filling. We read in Psalms, “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” (63:5, NIV) Jeremiah brings us a promise from God, “I will bless my people with more food than they need, and the priests will enjoy the choice cuts of meat. I, the Lord, have spoken.” (31:14, CEV). God, and His bounty, His provision, His life-sustaining food, can never be exhausted. Know this, sin will starve the soul. Stay away from what the world offers and look instead to the table of the Lord. Realize also, that the hungry soul is the most thankful. We should be “looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13, NIV)
“O the bliss of the man who longs for total righteousness as a starving man longs for food, and a man perishing of thirst longs for water, for that man will be truly satisfied!”