A Season of Hope ~ Preparing Our Hearts for Easter
Matthew 5: 6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.”
In 1945, during the final months of WWII when the Allies continued their push to liberate Europe and the rest of the world from Nazi tyranny, the Netherlands experienced what became known as The Hunger Winter. The Germans had instituted a blockade which prevented all food supplies, as well as coal for heating fuel, from reaching the cities. Between 18,000 and 22,000 people died during the period of late 1944 to May 1945, most of whom were small children and older men. In some provinces, there was nothing to eat but tulip bulbs and sugar beets. Not only did the citizens suffer from starvation but they also experienced one of their coldest winters on record.
How blessed we are that most, if not all, of us have never experienced hunger on that scale nor thirst equally as dire. Hunger and thirst are two of the most powerful forces in the human body. There are few physical sensations as compelling as an empty, growling stomach or a parched throat in need of water. Hunger and thirst drive us to take prompt and decisive action.
William Barclay notes in his study Bible that many people today who have never lacked food or water do not really understand the kind of desperate hunger and thirst that many people of Jesus’ day would have been acquainted with. Food and drink weren’t as readily available. Women often walked miles to reach the nearest well to fill vessels for their family’s daily water needs. The Israelites were very frugal eaters; meat was scarce; fish and bread were staples; fresh food supplies such as fruit and vegetables depended on the season. So, hunger and thirst were common occurrences.
In John 6:35 Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” He is referring to our spiritual appetite, a hunger and thirst that can only be satisfied in Christ and His righteousness—a satisfaction that can only be found in a growing, fruit-bearing relationship with Jesus.
Barkley also notes,
“O the bliss of the man who longs for total righteousness as a starving man longs for food, and a man perishing of thirst longs for water, for that man will be truly satisfied!”
How true this is for us! What type of nourishment do we seek? Only food and water or do we seek to fill ourselves with the things of this world that offer no lasting nourishment or satisfaction? When we are faithful to seek God and His Word with consistency, like we seek food and drink, we will find the hunger and thirst for things that take the place of Christ begin to diminish.
• When we hunger, what does Jesus offer to us? The Bread of Life
• When we thirst, what does Jesus offer to us? Living water
• When we desire more righteousness, what does Jesus offer to us? Himself
Dear readers, may we have a hunger and a thirst for God like our very lives depend on it!
Dear Righteous Father, during this Lenten season, we pray that You would cause us to be so hungry and thirsty that our satisfaction would only be found in You and Your righteousness. Forgive us when we try to fill our emptiness with harmful or empty foods and drink that can never satisfy. May we rightly discern what will nourish us and fill us up to overflowing with more of You, dear God. We pray in the name of Your Son who is our Bread of Life. Amen.
