Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled”.
I love it. I love the Beatitudes. Don’t you? You can find them in Matthew 5. They’re some of my favorite words/promises from Christ himself. I’ve been a little run down lately. Life is so fast-paced. My kids are growing up, jobs are stressful, our family is so far away and satan more than anyone wants to keep me from living a righteous life. I’ve listed four things that block us from righteousness. Each one represents a taste of what goes on in all our lives. Everyday that goes by with these little stumblers loose in our life only hardens our hearts more. If you see something that rings true in your life….I pray that God would call you to full surrender to Him and that today you would make the change you need to hunger after Him and His righteousness.
Sinful pleasure. We are so easily absorbed into “other” things. By other, I’m talking about all the things that take us away from God. For some it could be career or money. For another it could be lust or sports. Sin has a way of feeling good (at first) and tying us to it. We end up wanting more and going farther than we ever intended. We get trapped in our sinful pleasures.
Self-sufficiency. We fall into this one by thinking we don’t have room for God in our life. We think we’ve got it all under control. Our choices are ours. We know what’s best. It only gets easier to rely on self and ignore God. No one is so empty as he who thinks he is full.
Secret sin. We think we’ve gotten away with it because no one knows…but God does. When we feel jealous or envious. When we don’t forgive someone who’s wronged us or resent another in our minds. We are harboring secret sin. This hardens our heart and takes away our appetite for the things of God.
Neglect of our spiritual life. All Christians believe in God, but nominal Christians have little time for Him. When we are too busy with everyday life to be reading our Bible and spending time in prayer…we lose our desire for discipleship. We end up crowding God out of our lives. Until we shrivel up and wither away spiritually.
Some questions that come to my mind are; Am I yielding to God in all area’s of my life? Do I seek Him in my decisions? Am I spending enough time in His word and in prayer? Am I nurturing my relationship with him? Can other’s see Christ in me? Am I truly surrendered to Him? Why not?
I want to be. I have some slowing down to do. Some refocusing and regrouping. I see clearly the spots that need cleaning up. What about you? Can you see what God wants changed in your life? Maybe it’s more than just that list. Have you commited your life to Christ? Have you confessed your sin to Him and asked for forgiveness? Are you a Christian…..or just one in name only? God wants you to choose Him. If you haven’t done so you can right now. It doesn’t cost you anything to follow Him…but it cost Him everything. He paid the price for you and me (knowing we didn’t deserve it). I will never get over that. Jesus Christ died….knowing how rotten to the core I am…..FOR ME! And you!
Precious Lord,
I will never say it enough. You are so Holy! So righteous! So gracious! Thank you for saving me. I rest in your promise that because I have accepted you as my Lord….that I will live with you in heaven for all eternity. I long for the day I see your face. I’ve imagined you over and over in my mind….it can never match up to the reality of that glory I will feel that day. When I see you….until then, I’ll hunger and thirst after you and your righteousness.
Amen.