“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” Matthew 5:6
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” Mathew 6:33
Where is my attention focused? How far from the foundational teachings of Christ have I strayed in my journey of faith? What is consuming my time and where am I expending my energy? What am I hungering and thirsting for? What are my prayers and faith seeking? Maybe they are confronting questions and maybe I would rather not face them, but face them I must, as must you, if we are to walk in an increasing relationship with our Saviour and Lord.
How quickly our hunger and thirsting aligns itself with the value system of the world in which we will never have enough, never be satisfied or ever experience the joy of being filled. We exhaust ourselves chasing good things, and find ourselves often disappointed when what we want or believe is ours doesn’t come to pass. Even when we experience blessing it never seems enough and we continue to seek more. It’s only a small deviation but one with huge consequences for our lives – when we allow our focus to slip off God and onto God’s benefits, we quickly find ourselves wandering in the desert, never quite able to cross over into the promised land. Jesus promised that we would be filled if we hunger and thirst after Him, which allows us relationship with God Almighty. He is more than enough – Hallelujah!
Jesus makes this point again at the end of Matthew 6 where He challenges the disciple to not fall into the trap of chasing the “things” but rather seeking the kingdom of God. We have to focus on the Creator not the creations. His promise to us when we have our priorities right is simply astounding “and all these things shall be added unto you”. None of us enjoy relationships that are one sided, where the other party is only interested in you for what they can get out of you…. Please God let us not become so self-absorbed that we neglect You in the pursuit of Your benefits!
The old illustration of being just a degree out on the compass means we are a long way away from our destination over the length of our journey. It’s incredibly important that we have the basics right if we are going to fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives. These verses may seem to be simplistic and foundational but if we don’t build our journey on living these truths then we may find a life of empty searching rather than one of overflowing abundant filling that can only be found in the presence of the King.
Dear friends won’t you conduct a self-audit today and check up on your relationship with God – Is your prayer life one sided? Is it all about what you want God to do for you or do you find yourself lost in his presence? Let’s realign our focus; reprioritise our hunger, thirst and seeking, and encounter the filling presence of our Lord, Saviour and King in Jesus Name. May our pursuit be for His kingdom to manifest itself on earth through us, not our kingdoms of narcissistic self-interest cleverly disguised under the cloak of Christianity.
May you find that place of filling today in Jesus mighty name. Lord, forgive me for my selfishness and allow me to experience afresh the joy of being in your presence. Amen.
Jeffrey