Read
Matt. 5:6 (NIV)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Reflect
Blessed are the hungry and thirsty? Jesus is the man who calls himself the bread of life, feeds the multitudes, claims to be the source of internal streams of water, and commissions his followers to feed the sheep and extend a cup of cold water in his name. But here he says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst.” Seems a touch off message for Jesus.
But Jesus doesn’t want to simply still your appetite or numb your thirst. He wants to train and direct it toward him—the only thing that will truly satisfy. His vision for you is not a comfortably full belly, but a primal craving and hunger for what is needed most, what will fill to overflowing. His intention is not a refined palate, but a perpetual desire to draw from the deep well of holy love and divine righteousness.
Jesus, strange as it seems, wants you to be dissatisfied—with the things that are too small to fill out your soul or too low to reach true depth. Why? So that in the end, you learn that your oldest and persisting longings come to rest in him. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Pray
Jesus, make me hungry. Please don’t let me settle for satisfaction in anything but you. Awaken my deepest longing and keep me dissatisfied until my appetite is trained on you. Amen.
Conference
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? In what ways? What is it that you want most?
For the Awakening,
Matt LeRoy