Hungry and thirsty

Published 1:00 pm Sunday, August 3, 2025

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.” — Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)

Righteousness in the Greek is dikaiosune, it means “to live as we ought.” It is obvious that in order for us to live as we ought according to God’s word, we must be in a “right” relationship with God and our “neighbor” (Matthew 22:36-40).

What I’m going to say today will mean nothing to many of you; that will soon change if you decide to pursue righteousness with the passion that Jesus speaks of.

Sadly, only a very few ever know what it means to be hungry and thirsty for God, not because they can’t know, but because they do not want to. If you’ve ever had a personal encounter with the Living God, then you know first-hand what I’m trying to say. If you, like Tommy Tenny said in his book, “The God Chasers,” have begun to follow hard after God, then you know what it means to be hungry for God.

Can we really want to know Him so much that it becomes like a hunger for food or a thirst for cool water when we are thirsty? When you no longer care what the world says about you, when it no longer matters about public opinion, when your possessions no longer tie you down, when you finally surrender your all to Him, he will overwhelm you and show you the fullness of His Grace and Mercy, and you shall be filled with righteousness as a result of being hungry and thirsty for Him. 

When you give it all up, all the pride and self-centeredness, all the concerns for self, all thoughts of accomplishment and notoriety, when you give yourself completely to the pursuit of The Holy One, He will make you holy as He is holy. He is waiting, longing for us to want Him as he wants us.

In order to know what Jesus means in this verse, we must first realize that He is talking about a deep, personal relationship that is based on faith and trust in Him. His desire is for us to live lives that reflect this relationship; not a life that reflects our head knowledge about Him.

The only acceptable attitude if we are to “hunger and thirst for righteousness” is surrender; here I am Lord, I’m hungry and thirsty for You, “fill my cup Lord.”

Rev. Bobby Thornhill is a retired pastor.