What Are You Thirsting For?: Longing for What’s Right in a Broken World- Matthew 5:6-
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." - Matthew 5:6 -
What are you hungry for? I’m not talking about Chick-fil-A, pizza, or your favorite snack. I mean the kind of hunger that makes your whole body ache, where your stomach won’t stop growling, and food becomes all you can think about. Or thirst, the dry mouth, the cracked lips, the dizzy feeling when you haven’t had water for a while. Now imagine channeling that kind of intense craving not toward food or drink, but toward righteousness. That’s what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5:6.
He says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” In a world where people chase status, wealth, fame, and even comfort, Jesus flips the script. He says the ones who are truly blessed, truly satisfied, are the ones who deeply long for righteousness. That word “righteousness” isn’t just about being perfect or religious. It’s about a right relationship with God, a desire to live in alignment with His will, His love, His justice, and His truth.
Let’s break this down together.
Let’s be real, we all hunger for something. Social media makes us crave attention or approval. Our friends or culture might pull us to hunger for success or material things. But none of those things truly fills us. Not for long. They might feel good in the moment, but they always leave us wanting more. Jesus invites us to hunger and thirst for something better, something eternal. He promises that when our deepest longing is to know God and live right before Him, we will be filled.
This isn’t just about private devotion or checking off religious boxes. Hungering for righteousness means caring about what God cares about. It means looking at the world and saying, “I want to see God’s kingdom come. I want to live like Jesus, with integrity, love, compassion, and truth.” It means being honest when we mess up, being willing to grow, and staying spiritually hungry even when the world is handing out fast food for the soul. Jesus knew that the people listening to the Sermon on the Mount weren’t the rich or the powerful. They were ordinary, often struggling people, people who knew what hunger and thirst actually felt like. And He was telling them: That kind of craving? That’s what I want you to have for God. And when you do, you won’t walk away empty.
What Are You Chasing?
We live in a world that teaches us to chase likes, follows, and approval. We hunger for attention, success, relationships, or money, thinking those things will satisfy us.
But here’s the truth:
You can be full on the outside and starving on the inside.
Jesus is calling us to hunger for something deeper, righteousness. Not just being “good” or religious, but living in right relationship with God and others. It’s about craving His presence, His character, and His will more than anything else.
Righteousness is not about perfection—it’s about direction.
It’s about aiming your heart toward Jesus and allowing Him to shape you from the inside out.
2. Hunger is a Sign of Life
You know what’s scary? Losing your appetite. Doctors say if someone stops eating, it’s often a sign that something’s wrong. The same is true spiritually. If you’re no longer craving time with God, no longer stirred by worship, no longer moved by His Word—it may be time to check your spiritual health.
But here’s the good news: If you feel the hunger, that’s a sign of life.
Even if you’ve drifted away, even if you’ve messed up, if there’s still a longing in you for God, that means He’s still calling you home.
3. The Promise: You Will Be Filled
Jesus doesn’t say, “Maybe you’ll be filled” or “Hopefully you’ll feel better.” He says you WILL be filled. The world leaves you empty. But when you hunger for God, He satisfies in a way nothing else can. He fills you with peace in the storm, joy in the struggle, strength in weakness, and purpose in confusion.
Psalm 107:9 says, “For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” That’s a promise you can stand on.
4. How to Cultivate the Hunger
If you’ve lost your appetite for God, here are a few ways to stir it back up:
Feed on His Word: Start with one Psalm or one Gospel story a day.
Worship: Not just on Sabbath, but in your room, with your headphones, or in nature.
Pray Raw: Talk to God honestly, like a friend. Don’t try to sound holy—just be real.
Serve Others — Nothing grows righteousness like loving others like Jesus did.
The more time you spend with God, the more you’ll want Him.
The more you taste, the more you’ll crave.
So today, let’s do a heart check. What are you hungry for? What’s taking up your thoughts, your energy, your goals? Is it stuff that fades, or things that fill? Because the promise is clear: when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, not just occasionally, but like our soul depends on it, God meets us in that longing. He satisfies us in ways the world never can.
Stay hungry for Him. Keep thirsting for what’s right. Because His promise stands: You. Will. Be. Filled!
Prayer: Lord, give us hearts that hunger for You. Not for fame, not for followers, not for fleeting pleasures, but for righteousness. Fill every empty place in us. Remind us that You are enough.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
