READING: 2 Kings 4-6, Matthew 5
As I sat down to read today’s Scripture, I found myself both hungry and thirsty. In fact, I got a drink and ate some strawberries before I wrote this devotion.
Hunger and thirst are strange urges, actually. All of us can think of times when our stomach growled as a signal cry for food. We can remember times when our thirst was so great that our throat seemed to crave any kind of refreshment. Generally, you just know when your body needs some kind of nourishment.
Still, I read Jesus’ words today, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt 5:6), and I must ask whether I genuinely “hunger and thirst” for righteousness. That is, do I crave God’s righteousness in me so much that my life gives evidence of His grace and power? And, do I long for it so much that no temptation has equal lure for me? When we hunger and thirst for the righteousness with which God promises to fill us, the temptations that were once so intense in our lives lose their force. Christian living, then, is not about simply trying to avoid sin; rather, it is about proactively and rightly longing for God more than anything else.
When He quenches our hunger and thirst with Himself, we find ourselves satisfied.
PRAYER: “God, move my heart to long for righteousness.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Weekend is for catch-up and review
MONDAY’S READING: 2 Kings 7-8, 2 Chronicles 21, Matthew 6
