Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
Hunger is the opposite of apathy. The scriptures instruct us to awaken out of sleep so that Christ can give us light. Jesus also told a parable comparing those who were watching to those who were sleeping. The sleeping were not vigilant or focused, and they missed what God had for them.
This is a challenge for all of us. When things are going well, it’s easy to get apathetic in day-to-day life. A person with no goal, no focus, and nothing to pursue can easily fall into a routine that has no direction or purpose. Yet, our calling is not to be idle and wait for the end of this life. The Christian life is designed to be filled with joy, growth, and real purpose. We must not allow ourselves to be lulled to sleep spiritually. A hibernating Christian is not growing.
However, as we seek God through His word, it begins to awaken something within us. Behind a seeking heart is God’s promise that we will search for Him and find Him, when we seek with all our heart. A seeking heart is one that has heard God’s invitation and is responding.
God calls us to seek because He has something He wants us to find. God wants you to discover the depths of His purpose for you. God has designed a path of life specifically for you. Along that path He has provided treasures and experiences to enrich, fulfill, and reward you. But these treasures can’t be found by the one who doesn’t want to be roused into action.
Once we are answering the call to seek, God begins to reveal to us a better life, better character, and a deeper spiritual world for us to discover. When we get a glimpse of what God has for us, this creates a hunger inside. This also stirs the desire for what God is revealing to us.
Many years ago, there were two people in our study group. One was eager to learn, and the more he learned about his faith, the more he desired to go deeper. He had a hunger to experience this life of faith. He read the Bible, asked lots of questions, and over the years, he became a very godly man with a deep faith.
The other man never participated in the studies. He said his life was too busy to read, study, pray, or participate outside of the class. In the course of many discussions, he said that he comes home from work, unwinds in front of the TV, does a few things around the house, and then repeats the next day. He struggled in his faith, didn’t know how to deal with life’s problems, and one day he said, “I feel like God has let me down. I don’t feel close to Him, and faith just doesn’t work. I don’t feel like God cares about me as an individual.”
Which of these men are experiencing the blessed life Jesus is speaking about in Matthew 5:6 above? Which of these men does God desire to bless?
God wants to bless both of them, and God has prepared the blessed life for both of them. God has designed the path of your life with every promise and purpose to benefit you both now, and in eternity.
The difference between these two men is that one was too full of temporary activities to feel that hunger. It’s like being too full of junk food to feel hungry at dinner. If I let my kids snack before dinner, then they say they are not hungry when the healthy meal comes. Even adults can do this. Over time, poor food choices produce poor health. The hunger is missing from our appetite while our bodies show starvation for good nutrition.
At the same time, we also are making spiritual choices that will affect us over time. If we allow our lives to be filled with empty activities, over time we will see a decline in spiritual health. Hobbies, TV, and other activities are enjoyable, but like junk food, they must be kept in moderation. If we allow our lives to stay crowded, we’ll never experience the hunger for deeper and healthier things.
Those who enter the blessed life Jesus promised are those who are willing to push aside the things that crowd out their appetite for spiritually healthy things, and allow their hearts to hunger for something better. When we see the things of the word, it creates a hunger for these things in our lives, and as we feed our souls, we grow. Or as Jesus says, to those who have, more will be given. Those who do not have will lose what they do have. When we are growing, we hunger for more and are satisfied with more. It’s as the Bible describes it. Spiritual babies desire the milk of the word, and soon grow into being able to take in the meat of the word.
In other words, we start off with the joy of finding the beginning of hungering for the word, and as we feed our hearts and our understanding grows, we begin to recognize the deeper things of God, and the more we receive, the more we grow into understanding.
To that person, Jesus promised, Blessed are you who hunger for His righteousness (which is through the word), for you will be filled. And the more you grow and hunger, the more you are filled.
Over time, you will either be the person who says, “Faith doesn’t seem to work,” or you will be the person who says, “Wow! God is always pouring into my life.” Each of us has to decide if we are going to settle for a life crowded with the shallow things of this life, or are we going to take away the junk food of our time so we can develop a hunger for His righteousness. Your life choices today is what develops your life tomorrow. If you choose to be blessed, you will be spiritually vibrant and growing in your faith. It’s a daily choice to walk in His promises.
Eddie Snipes
August 2025