We have now entered the season of Lent. For many Christians, Lent is taken as a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter where God miraculously redeemed mankind by resurrecting His Son from the dead. It is also a time to consider what Jesus said and did; and how we should be living in light of His Words. ✞ ♥
During this season, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we have chosen to focus our devotionals on Jesus’ instructions and admonition communicated in Matthew chapter 5—the Beatitudes. Jesus said, “Blessed are…” and He went on to give instruction as to how to be “blessed.” To be ‘blessed’ is to ‘be happy, or to be envied.’ Truly for the Christian, we ARE blessed—oh, how very blessed we are! Those who observe our lives should clearly be able to tell that we ARE blessed—and that we KNOW it! ✞ ♥
Please consider Jesus’ instructions along with us. We pray that our words will encourage you and spur you on to be prepare your hearts for the joyous celebration of His Resurrection! ✞ ♥
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6
As children we hunger to learn what is right and what is wrong. We are supposed to learn this from our loving parents—the ones that God has blessed us with. From a young age when we start to learn between right and wrong, we hunger and thirst to do right so as to please those around us. As children of God, we should do the same. We should hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God.
The Samaritan woman said to Him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
John 4:9-15 NIV
As Christians, we have a hunger and thirst for a relationship with God. Once we accept Christ, we begin that relationship. Even before the Samaritan woman received Christ, she thirsted for the righteousness of God. The Samaritan woman was already thirsting for Jesus before she even met and spoke with Him. When she asked for the living water, Jesus told her everything about herself. He already knew her. She ran back to tell the people who shunned her. That day many became children of God. Even though she had sinned, Jesus blessed her.
As the children of God we, like the Samaritan woman, have sinned. However, if we want to be in a relationship with Jesus, our spiritual thirst and hunger can be satisfied by accepting Him. All we have to do is believe that He died on the Cross for us and rose three days later to defeat death and sin.
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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for satisfying our thirst and hunger with Your righteousness. Without You, our spirit would be forever hungry. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Laura, thank you for this encouraging word today. Jesus does want to satisfy our hunger and thirst. All we have to do is believe and accept His “cup of Living Water.” Praise God.
love this example you shared, laura, of the samaritan woman and Jesus offering what would satisfy her ‘hunger and thirst…’ thankful that His supply never runs out! <3
Interesting what you said about how we learn right and wrong from our parents. We adopted a child with fetal alcohol syndrome 30 yrs ago. I watched him struggle over the years because he never had that early childhood training of right from wrong. One counselor told me he has no conscience of right and wrong. I wept many times over him and prayed that the Holy Spirit would help him decipher right from wrong. Even tho we assured him every day of his life how much we loved him and wanted him, we could never take away the rejection complex and abandonment syndrome he struggled with. Today he is an overcomer. He knows the Lord and has a personal relationship with him, but he still struggles with right from wrong, making impulsive decisions that ruin his finances, etc. God has given him an understanding wife and we are so grateful. Didnt mean to share all of this, just struck a note with me how blessed I was in life to have Godly parents that instilled that desire in me to please them and God.