Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Have you ever been hungry? I mean really hungry. I don’t mean your tummy growling because you missed your 3 pm snack but a hunger that is long lasting and painful. I am not sure that anyone reading this has truly experienced that kind of hunger and if you have, I am sorry.

As we travelled the streets of India on our trips to visit my family, we saw that kind of hunger. We saw what real hunger looks like. It wasn't pretty.

Mother Teresa shared in an interview about all the pain she had witnessed in her lifetime. The interviewer asked her what was the worst thing she had seen and she replied by saying that “nothing compares to the pain caused by hunger”. The worst thing she had witnessed was children struggling through the physical, mental and emotional pain that comes with real hunger. I only saw a glimpse of that during our travels to India. Hunger hurts.

And yet, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” We are to desperately pursue God in the same way that we would desire food if we were hungry, or water if we were thirsty.

We get a real sense of that desperate longing when we read David’s words in Psalm 42:1 where he wrote, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”

Do you long for God like that? Do you hunger for Him? Do you thirst for Him?

We have a tendency to fill up on things that don’t satisfy and leave us feeling pretty empty, don’t we?

Hunger for God is an interesting thing. It requires sacrifice. It requires seeking God first. But I think it also requires that we believe and trust that what God has for us is better than anything we would choose for ourselves.

This week, I encourage you to challenge one another to hunger and thirst for God.

Not sure how to start? Here are a few simple things we can do:

Make God a part of your regular conversations. Allow God to be a part of your regular vocabulary. When talking about a beautiful sunset give thanks to God. Likewise in times of need cry out to God for help. People in your midst should know who you worship and who you go to for strength, by the words you use.
Look for God in the everyday things. When you take the time to look - you will be amazed as you see God at work in your life and the life of others. Like when the tax return cheque arrived just when the rent was due, or any number of Godly "coincidences". There are God moments all around. Just look!
Make church a priority. We are all busy, I know, but we need to make the worship of our God a priority. Come, come regularly and be filled, as we worship the Creator and Sustainer of this universe, the One who sent His son, Jesus, for you and your family.
Serve God. What an incredible blessing it is to serve. Why not gather your family together and join us this Saturday as we pack and deliver boxes of food for Pickering Cares. The hungry feeding the hungry. You will come away feeling blessed to have been a blessing. It's a pretty cool thing.

Be hungry this week because those who hunger and thirst for God will be filled!