Submitted by Sam Nobles
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6 ESV)
I am personally convinced the reason many people are not
filled or satisfied in the Lord is because they have not been emptied. They are
still full of themselves and the Bible calls that pride. Pride must go before
you find yourself hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
My wife fixes me excellent meals, but if I stop off and score
a couple of burgers before I head home, though there’s a wonderful meal spread
on the table, I don’t have an appetite for it because I’m full of burgers and
fries. Much in the same way some people have lost their appetite for the Word
of God. They no longer desire to worship; they no longer crave righteousness
because they are full of the fast-food of self-importance. When you empty
yourself of self, happy are you because you’re going to hunger once more for
righteousness.
The prophet Jeremiah says we should seek the Lord with all of
our hearts (Jeremiah
29:13). What does it mean to seek the Lord with all our heart?
It’s like when I would lose a contact lens. When that happened, everyone
searched with all their hearts to help find the missing lens. That’s the kind
of diligence, the kind of single-heartedness the Lord wants from us in seeking
Him.
Why does God want us to search for Him with that kind of
intensity? It’s not that He’s playing hard to get, but that He wants to
strengthen us. You see, the only way we’ll be prepared for the ages to come is
if we learn how to pray, worship, and walk by faith this side of eternity. This
earth is boot camp. It’s spring training. The Lord is training us because He
knows what lies beyond this life and He wants to get us in shape for it's.
That’s why He doesn’t respond to those who seek Him half-heartedly or lethargically.
Scripture to Claim:
“Ask,
and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks
finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8 ESV)
