Hunger and Thirst

 If I am going to hunger, may I hunger for the Word of God. If I am going to thirst, may I thirst for His righteousness in my life. When we visualize the two title words in today's message, it isn't necessarily a positive image that comes to mind. When I think about hunger, it isn't just a picture of someone that has had to push back lunch an hour or so and now they are "hungry" or "starved". What I'm envisioning is someone who is lacking the proper nutrition to function properly on a day to day basis. As I consider the image of someone who is experiencing thirst, I visualize a person with dry, parched lips desperately searching for even a drop of water. Here in America hunger and thirst should not be an issue. We, as a country, throw away more food and waste more clean water on a daily basis than some parts of the world have to consume in weeks or months. Just as I strive to not be wasteful with our natural resources, remembering how blessed we are to live in a bountiful land, it is more important to me that I do not take for granted the unending blessings made available to me through God's Word and the example of God's righteousness He gave us through the life of His Son Jesus Christ. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6. Today, we are going to view hunger and thirst from a different perspective. We need to hunger more, and thirst more for the One who created us and designed us with a purpose in mind. 

May I hunger. Research studies tell us that the worst time to go grocery shopping is when we are hungry. Walking down the aisles those high impulse items just seem to transport themselves into our buggy whether that is what we went to store for or not. When we are out to eat and the menu is shared, there are times when it is hard to pick between meals. We want it all! As a former high school wrestler who cut weight for matches there were days at a time that I would only eat a sparse amount of food, if any. I can still pull one specific memory to the forefront of my mind that exemplifies this concept of being hungry. A commercial came on the television advertising frozen broccoli with a rich, creamy cheese sauce being poured over it. I didn't even like broccoli back then, but man I would have given anything to have had that bowl of broccoli with cheese sauce dripping off each stem sitting in front of me at the dining room table. That's the hunger I want to experience daily when I think about God's Word found in His Holy Bible. I want to taste the deeper meaning of Book and chapter, and I want to have hunger pangs for the truths His word provides. In John 6:35 Jesus shared, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger ....". Coming to Christ means seeking, searching, or possibly hunting for the truths of the Bible and how we can apply the Word to our daily lives. Why does a hunter hunt? Because he or she is hungry! I want my hunger to drive my daily devotional time, my prayers, and my desire to hear from and follow God's Holy Spirit each day.

The second part of the verse above goes on to say, "... and whoever believes in me shall not thirst". I am confident that if I go to a water fountain  and compress the button, water is going to come out and I am going to refresh my body. I know that if there isn't a water fountain available all I have to do is find a store and there will be myriad options for brands and quantities of water to select from. We live in a land where thirst is a momentary thing at best. That doesn't mean we can't experience a true thirst though. I want to thirst for God's righteousness. While water is readily available to quench our momentary thirst, I want to search for God's righteousness like I am stranded in a desert with no spigot in sight. I want to have my thirst quenched by the example of righteousness that Jesus displayed as He lived a sinless life as a man here among us. Sinless, blameless, and willing to suffer the brutal torture He endured so we would have the opportunity to seek His righteousness. Just as man can only live a short period without water, I want my life to be such that I need the nourishment of His righteousness to live out each day that I have been given to live. I desire a long, cool drink of God's righteousness each morning as I rise and throughout each day that I have been given to live!

I pray that you will hunger and that you will thirst. If you happened to jump into our conversation at this point you might be asking what in the world is this about? There's not too many positive images that surface when we speak about hunger and those that are thirsty, yet the hunger and thirst we have discussed today is one that we all should experience. The scene of Jesus talking to the woman at the well in John 4 gives us a good overall view of the hunger and thirst I am describing. When the Samaritan woman inquired about the "living water" He was offering, Jesus replied, "... but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." May your hunger be met and your thirst be quenched through your relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Amen. 

Coach Carter