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!  ✞ ♥

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 

Matthew 5:6

This is one of the most important verses in the Sermon on the Mount.  The foundational requirement for all godly living is to “…hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33

(Such hunger was also seen in Moses; see Exodus 33:13, 18.)

If you recall from the Gospels, Jesus’ disciples—and many others—believed the Messiah would be a warrior-figure who would lead His people against the Romans and tear down those oppressors.   He would establish a new kingdom  where the ancient theocracy would be re-established.  You can certainly sense this behind the disciples’ rebuke of Jesus when he would speak of his forthcoming execution at the hands of the Jewish leaders (e.g., Matthew 16:21-23), or their question about the establishment of the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). But we know that is not the kind of Messiahship Jesus had in mind, nor was the kingdom He spoke of one of physical dominion.

So, while it is true that God will establish His people, giving them relief from oppression, and the restoration of justice, God’s plan is much more long-term than we might think. There will come a time when His kingdom will be established, the wicked will be punished, and the oppressed and persecuted will be rewarded for their faithfulness. But it will be in a way that is much more spiritually satisfying.

For that reason, I think it is better to consider this Beatitude (Matthew 5:6) in terms of “righteousness” than “justice.”  And it is ultimately that righteousness before God for which we should hunger and thirst.  It is the deer in Psalm 42 that we should emulate—thirsting after God as the deer thirsts after water.  When He was tempted (Matthew 4:3-5), Jesus resisted the satanic urging to transform the rocks into bread that He might break His fast and reminded Satan that man survives on the Word of God.  Physical needs are easily taken care of—the hungry and thirsty can be satisfied with bread and water.  But if that spiritual longing for the righteousness of God to reign in one’s heart is not present, there’s nothing anyone can do to satisfy that craving.  Only God can do that.  So it is imperative we look to God, yearn for Him and for His righteousness. And His promise is that He will not fail us.

There is no justice outside of God, and to seek after God is to seek after the only One through whom true justice can reign.  And even if we don’t see it in this life, we know He will bring it about in His time when He declares an end to all things.

But more importantly, we should seek after God with diligence.  His righteousness should be our consuming passion.  And we know that when we do this, we will find Him, and we will be satisfied.

 * ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥~ *

Father, we thank You for when we seek You all things shall be added unto us. This is the promise we have in You…in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.