Week 23 (1 - 7 June): Fully Hungry, Hungrily Full

The message that I shared at YMCA last Saturday was a message that God put in my heart. It is centered around the teaching by Jesus in the Beatitudes, in Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."

When I first came upon this verse, I wondered, why does it not read as "blessed are those who are full of righteousness"?

At times, we may think we are hungry and thirsty for God and His righteousness. What is the gold standard for hunger and thirst? Psalm 42:1 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”

How thirsty and how hungry are we, actually? Are we like King David, longing for God and almost struggling to catch our breath? Often, we fail to realise that this spiritual hunger is there or we are simply too distracted by our other appetites. I reflected on my appetite for certain things like Netflix drama, literally desiring one episode and the next and the next. My hunger and thirst for God pale in comparison to my hunger and thirst for the things of the world. Yet, God is good. He does not reprimand or make me feel bad but gently guided me to and convicted me of this realisation.

We are going to celebrate TB’s 9th year anniversary next month; a celebration of 9 years of God’s goodness and many more to come. Are we hungry and thirsty to keep the fire that He has placed in this body burning and burning even stronger than before?

Father God, we want more of You in our life. May You increase and we decrease. Ignite and stir in us the hunger to hunger and the thirst to thirst for more of your righteousness. Let us never be satisfy where we are and always have a holy dissatisfaction for more and more of you. Keep our fire for you burning always above all other things. In Jesus name we pray, amen!

Boon Hoe