Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Psalms 42:1-2 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
John 6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Amos 8:11-13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
Psalms 107:9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
Psalms 4:6-7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Isaiah 55:1-3 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Isaiah 65:13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame;
This describes a profound thirst and hunger that cannot be satisfied by a sip or snack. This is a longing that endures and is never completely satisfied on this side of eternity. This desire is real, natural, intense, can be painful, and is a driving force. We surely hunger for many things: power, authority, success, comfort, happiness – but do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? Having the right heart, mind, and soul desire(s) will affect what we thirst and hunger for. If it is more, power, ease of life, success, etc then there will be a hunger and thirst that is never satisfying. It may satisfy for a moment in time but loses its ability to satisfy the longing of the soul. The soul hungering and thirsting for righteousness, holiness, godliness, with a heart and soul-deep desire to humbly honor and glorify Jesus Christ, will be satisfied and nourished with living water and the bread of life – Jesus Christ. Though their hunger and thirst continue for knowledge and understanding of the love of God, their soul is satisfied in this pursuit all their days. True happiness and satisfaction for our souls will never come from what can be obtained in or from this world. It is only found in humble surrender, trust, reliance, and obedience in believing and following Jesus Christ. That is our hope, our rest, our refuge, our eternal joy. Hunger and thirst for things of God and you will be satisfied, blessed, and find a satisfying and lasting peace that passes all earthly understanding.