Have you ever been really hungry?

Not just ready for lunch, but truly hungry. Maybe you skipped a few meals or were working hard all day and realized you hadn’t eaten. Your stomach starts to growl. It becomes difficult to think about anything else. Food becomes the only thing on your mind.

Jesus says those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed.

What does that mean?

In the previous Beatitudes, Jesus spoke about being poor in spirit, mourning, and being meek. Those descriptions remind us that life in this world is not perfect and neither are we. We see our sin. We see the brokenness of the world. We experience suffering and loss.

When we see these things, something begins to grow in us.

A hunger.

A longing for things to be right.

• We hunger for righteousness when we see injustice and wish it would stop.
• We hunger for righteousness when we see sin in our own lives and wish we could be free from it.
• We hunger for righteousness when we see the pain people cause each other and long for a world where love truly rules.
• We hunger for righteousness when we see how far the world has wandered from God and wish people knew His truth.

That longing is not a bad thing.

It is actually a blessing.

God uses that hunger to turn our hearts toward Him.

The world tries to satisfy our hunger in many ways. It tells us happiness can be found in success, possessions, relationships, entertainment, or power. Yet none of these things truly satisfy the deeper hunger in our hearts.

Only God can do that.

And He does.

God satisfies our hunger for righteousness in Jesus.

Jesus lived the perfectly righteous life we could not live. He fulfilled God’s Law completely and then gave His righteousness to us. Through faith in Him, our sins are forgiven and we are counted righteous before God.

That is already an incredible gift. But the promise of Jesus goes even further.

One day our hunger will be completely satisfied.

When Jesus returns, sin will be gone. The brokenness of the world will be healed. Our hearts will no longer struggle against temptation. We will live in the perfect righteousness of God forever.

Until that day, we still feel the hunger.

• We see the brokenness of the world.
• We see our own sins and failures.
• We see injustice and suffering around us.

But instead of despairing, we remember Jesus’ promise. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.

God has already begun that work in us through Christ, and one day He will complete it.

That is a wonderful blessing.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

You know the hunger in our hearts. We long for righteousness in our lives and in this broken world. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, who gives us His righteousness and forgiveness. Strengthen our faith and remind us of the day when all things will be made right and our hunger will finally be satisfied.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.