“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Matthew 5:6 (RSV)
Everything Jesus said about hunger refers to spiritual hunger, not the food that physically sustains us.
He said “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger…” He also said “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word out of the mouth of God”…He told us that those who “hunger and thirst for His righteousness, will be satisfied.” Mary, His mother, also spoke about spiritual hunger, saying in Luke 1:53, “He (God) has filled the hungry with good things.”
I wonder if God is looking across the whole earth, searching the hearts of all individuals, to find those who are ripe and ready, with a deep hunger for Him, so that He can fill them with all His good things.
In a meditation titled “The currency of time”, I wrote about my newest friend at the Nursing Facility. He is a 72 year old man with a history of severe depression, but was admitted to the Nursing facility for heart failure. I called him Matt in my meditation on 8/27, to protect his privacy.
Matt has no wife or children, only brothers who live far away and one niece who lives nearby and visits him weekly. In listening to his life story, it seems he has been trying for a long time to find peace. He is at a stage in his life now, of directing all of his spiritual hunger toward Jesus. His heart is very open to the Lord and he let me pray for him one day last week.
I bring him printed copies of my meditations, and read them to him, because he has cataracts which obstruct his vision and he is unable to read. He devours every word of what I read to him with such hunger, that it feels like I am actually feeding a starving person, every time I read a meditation to him. I never saw a heart so hungry as Matt’s and I pray that God will continue to strengthen and secure him in his faith.
Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst for His righteousness will be filled. Based on Jesus’ promise, we can expect that people like Matt will be filled and find satisfaction in Christ, both in this present life and for all eternity.
They already decreased his medication for depression, which I take as a sign of his recovery. I pray for the healing of his heart failure, for a successful cataract surgery one day, and that his soul will always find the peace and satisfaction that comes through Jesus Christ. May we all stay as hungry as he is, and find all of our satisfaction in Christ.
Lord, we pray for all the hungry hearts, who will find true peace through you. Help us to stay hungry and shine your light that leads others to that endless fountain of your love and mercy. Amen
