Hunger and Thirst - Part 2
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."  Matt.5:6.
        The beatitudes are attitudes for a blessed life.  Jesus wants each of us to live a blessed life, and He has shown us the way to experience blessing everyday.  To be blessed is to be happy, fortunate, and to be envied.  This life is the life that everyone longs for, and admires in others.  It is a life to be envied, because it seems that through every circumstance, these attitudes carry you through and continue to reflect the life of Christ.  They bring satisfaction and fulfillment in life, and freedom from anxiety and fear and hopelessness. 
        The attitude of hunger and thirst for righteousness is essential for a believer.  In every day and in every circumstance the believer is calling out for God to bless, and guide, and strengthen.  It is continually leaning on God and trusting for God's provision.  It is living out of a living relationship with God, that gets ever stronger, because of hunger and thirst.  The more of God you experience, the more you want!  The more you experience the goodness of God, the more you want of it, and are unwilling to live without. 
        Our hunger and thirst for God is our most precious attitude, as it causes us to cry out to God for more.  To lose our hunger and thirst is a very serious problem that must be remedied.  What are the things that take away hunger from the body?  Usually sickness is the main thing that takes away hunger.  You know something is wrong when there is no hunger.  Spiritually, there are some things that can dampen our spiritual hunger, such as bitterness, anger, quarrelling, evil speaking, and malice, Eph. 4:31.  Getting angry at others, and upset with what someone else has done can cause you to lose your hunger for God, and you become so focused on what happened to you.  The answer for this is found in the next verse: "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." 
        Poison will take away hunger.  Spiritually, our hearts get poisoned by gossip and complaining.  "But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another."  Gal. 5:15.  I must protect my own hunger and thirst by not entering into gossip and talking negatively about my brothers and sisters.  Food poisoning will destroy hunger.  When we bring into our life teaching that is false and not based on the Word of God, it brings deception and causes disillusionment.  I have promised the Lord that I will not listen to teaching that is focused on bringing down another ministry.  Our ministry should always build up and lead others closer to Jesus. 
        "As new born babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby."  1 Pet. 2:2.  Nurture your hunger and thirst for God and let it grow.  Cry out to God for His fullness, and He will fill you until you are satisfied.
        "He who is satiated (with sensual pleasures) loathes and treads underfoot a honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet."  Pro. 27:7  AMPC