A Proper Spiritual Diet

Matthew 5:6

ESV“ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

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

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

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

NLT God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

KJV Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Psalm 42:1–2 “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”

Isaiah 55:1–2 ““Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

John 7:37–38 “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ””

Psalm 17:15 “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”

Observation

1. Hunger and thirst are basic and essential elements of the human condition.

With no food and no water, the maximum time the body can survive is thought to be about one week . With water only, but no food, survival time may extend up to 2 to 3 months.

The longest survival without food or water came just a few years later in 1979, when a man named Andreas Mihavecz (Austria) lasted 18 days without access to either

2. Righteousness debatably holds a two-fold explanation

a. Sinner’s justification

b. Total conformity to God’s Law

3. Satisfied conveys that a need has been met with sufficient results

Application

1. When was the last time we were desperately hungry and thirsty for righteousness?

Psalm 63:1–2 “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.”

2. Which side of the righteousness debate do we find ourselves in need of today?

John 4:14 “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.””

John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

3. Are we living a life of want or satisfaction?

O taste and see that the Lord is good:

blessed is the man that trusteth in him. –Psalm 34:8