DAY 15 – When We Hunger for God, All Other Hungers Subside | Lesson by Patricia Hudson | 21-Day Devotional on Jesus’ Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount

Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments


When We Hunger for God, 
All Other Hungers Subside 
  

Lesson by Patricia Hudson

Matthew 5:6, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed (happy) are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully! (Good News Translation, GNT)

Having retired from a 40+ year career in education in 2022, I found myself with an abundant amount of “free time.” To many people who were still employed, it was a dream come true and many were counting the days until their retirement. For me, it was, “What do I do now?” After a few months of feeling “thirsty” for finding purpose to replace the satisfying role of instructing students, I had a pivotal experience with the Holy Spirit. I realized and clearly grasped the opportunity available to me, to be able to use this time to “hunger and thirst” for the plans and purposes ahead.

The GNT translation of the verse reads, “Blessed (happy) are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!”

After months of feeling empty and “thirsty,” my perspective was changed when I focused my heart to seek what this verse conveys. My priority became seeking to fill my days with what God requires for the next chapter. The time I greatly desired when I was working to be able to pray, read and study God’s Word became available. It was my time to hunger and thirst for God and make our relationship a priority. I began to look for opportunities to serve others. I am blessed to have more time with my husband and family.

There are lessons which we have all learned as Christ Followers. One of those lesson is learning to seek the Lord diligently with all of our heart. This is fundamental to our right standing with God. There should be no exceptions or excuses to making this principle a priority in our lives.

Our loving and merciful God knows when things in life attempt to divert our focus from Him. He wants us to realize, when we hunger for Him, He will make all other hungers subside.

“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied. (Matthew 5:6, Amplified Bible)

REFLECTION QUESTION:
In what ways do your priorities reflect your hunger and thirst for righteousness? 

ACTION ITEMS BASED ON TODAY'S LESSON:

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RESOURCES:
• Message by Dr. Tony Evans, "Blessed Are the Spiritual Beggars" (Matthew 5:3)
https://go.tonyevans.org/tony-evans-sermons/blessed-are-the-spiritual-beggars

• Follow this link to a resource on the Beatitudes from BibleGateway:https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2022/08/what-are-the-beatitudes-why-are-the-beatitudes-important/

• Follow THIS LINK (or copy/paste) to a resource from Zondervan Academic: https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/beatitudes

• Follow THIS LINK (or copy/paste) to the web version of Barclay's Commentary on the New Testament: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb.html

• THIS LINK is a downloadable PDF of Barclay's Commentary

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