Mt 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Hunger:
1a) to suffer want 1b) to be needy (. to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire)
2. A strong desire or craving
Thirst:
) to suffer thirst, suffer from thirst
1a) to thirst is to painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened
Spiritual Hunger or Desire does not come upon one suddenly, uninvited, and overwhelmingly. It must be cultivated. You must create a place of emptiness, that cries out to God to be filled.
The intensity of our hunger will determine the dimension, and the degree of our filling
Many times as Christians we lose our spiritual appetite because we have allowed our souls, to be filled with natural earthly, carnal things.
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
How does a newborn babe desire milk.
#1 It craves it, #2 It requires it #3 It demands it.
Hunger, thirst, (spiritual desire is the single most required characteristic of the growing maturing, advancing Christian life,.) Yet it seems at times to be the most easily forsaken or lost.
Jer 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
What is our attitude toward the Lord? His presence? His Word?
Martha welcomed Jesus into her house, but forsook his presence for earthly concerns.
She took his presence for granted, she felt what she was doing was more important than what Jesus was saying. (Mary sat at his feet and heard his words)
Jn 7:37-39 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
We understand this scripture to be jesus invitation to to come to him for salvation, and then receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
But I believe it to be more, I believe it to the requirement for receiving continual and unceasing filling of the spirit.
Thirst or spiritual hunger and desire is the thermometer that determines the spiritual health of a Christian. A church. Or an organization.
When we lose our spiritual appetites, for the presence and the glory of God in our midst, then we are in critical condition, because if you’re not hungry and thirsty, you won’t eat and you won’t drink, and if you won’t eat and drink. You’ll die.
Ps 63:1-2 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul (thirsteth for thee), my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Isa 44:3 For I will pour water (upon him that is thirsty,) and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
Isa 41:17 When the poor and needy (seek water), and there is none, and their tongue faileth (for thirst) I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
These are incredible promises. But they are not for everybody, they are only for those who are hungering and thirsting after God.
Have we lost our desire for God? Have we lost the poor and needy spirit that attracts the heart of God? Have we become satisfied just to come to church, and go through the motions?
Or are we hungry for his manifest presence,. Are we craving a divine encounter with his diety.
Col 3:2-3(Set your affection on things above not on things on the earth), for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Hunger = Spiritual desire:
2Ch 15:15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and (sought him with their whole desire); and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.
Ps 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I (desire) beside thee.
What will it take to bring us to this blessed condition of Hungry?
It will take the same thing that it takes in the natural.
*We have to cut out the junk food:
junk food is the stuff that provides no true nourishment or strength to the body, it pacifies the appetite till we have no desire for the true healthy food that the body needs.
In a spiritual sense this is true also, We can fill up our lives on t.v. and sports, and recreation, and natural things till we have no desire or appetite for the things of God.
Many times people lose their hunger for spiritual things, and they think that if they wait long enough it will return.
It won’t
You must decide to cultivate that hunger, If you do not cultivate that hunger your spirit will become weak and eventually die of spiritual malnutrition.
Remember what Jesus said: Hunger is a blessing
Blessed are they that hunger.
Are you hungry for God?
*If not tell God, that you are sorry for letting things crowd your life until they have quenched your spiritual appetite.
*Go on a fast, and not just food.
Start pushing away the things that do not feed and nurture your spirit,
*Set aside some time for nothing else but spending time in his presence, and spend some time worshipping him.
Remember one of the first signs of a physical illness is the loss of apetite, It is also true of illness of the spirit.
May God bless you today with a greater hunger for him than you have ever known.
For they that hunger and thirst for him shall be filled.
