Hunger and Thirst

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

This is not where I usually am in my daily Bible reading, but the Lord has really put it on my heart to contemplate what this verse means. Through a series of events, He has brought across my path visuals of believers from other parts of the world, namely Australia and China. To see these brothers and sisters worship the Lord brings tears to my eyes, as I see that look of hunger and thirst on their faces, wanting to be in the presence of our Lord God more then anything else. For the last couple of days, I have been trying to figure out if they are tears of sadness or gladness. The Lord has brought it to my attention that it is a little of both.

My heart is so desirous for the people at our fellowship to want God more than anything else. I see those faces of the brothers and sisters in China, knowing that they put everything on the line, just to meet together, not to mention sharing their faith, and I am humbled, and to a point, disappointed, at the excuses we use to not drive across town to meet together with our church family. I see those brothers and sisters in Australia, meeting together with hands upraised, lost in abandonment to being in the presence of God, that they seem not to care what the person next to them is going to think.

And then the Lord taps me on the shoulder and says, "Are you hungry and thirsty for me? Like that?" It is very sobering to have the Lord ask you those questions. I examine my heart today, and I say, "Yes, Lord, I am hungry and thirsty for You, like that." My desire is for others to be that hungry and thirsty for the Lord. So I ask myself, "How do I do that?" And the answer is, I can't do that. That hunger, that thirst, is something that is developed over time, by repeatedly and consistently being in the presence of the Lord on a daily basis. Being in the Word brings about a thirst to be in the Word more, and being in the presence of God, through prayer and meditation, brings about a hunger for more of His presence. I am humbled again, by the thought that I have a cousin who is a cop in Indiana, and he sends me emails to let me know he is praying for our fellowship, and he has never been there. He prays while he is patrolling the streets in his hometown. While he is protecting the streets where he lives in a physical way, he is praying for our fellowship to grow strong in the Lord. I think about that every time it rains, and wonder how many people will see the weather as an excuse not to meet together with other believers. I think about believers I met in Costa Rica, who travel an hour or more one way, just to meet together to worship God, and to learn more about Him from His Word. They don't care that their "pews" are just 2x12's on concrete blocks, or that you can look through the walls of the church a see the river down below. They are hungry and thirsty. I know that there are others like them all over the world.

I think about our fellowship, and wonder if we have it too easy here in America. Not that I would want to live anywhere else, but it makes me wonder, "Where is the hunger? Where is the thirst?" And it reminds me that we are in the last days, and that the devil is working overtime to deceive as many as he can, possibly even some of the elect (see Matthew 24:24). Let us not be a casualty of the devil, a statistic of the elect who have been deceived. Put on the full armor of God today, for the battle ahead is serious and fierce. And let us get into the Word of God, and let it get into us. Let us, beloved, be hungry and thirsty, for the presence and power of the Lord in our lives. Amen.