This morning I read from Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” Not only does He satisfy, He blesses us as well.

This does not come effortlessly. It is so easy to get busy and slack on reading God’s Word. It is worth the effort, and the benefits are many! Here are just a few:

1. WE WILL BE FILLED WITH GOOD THINGS – Luke 1:53 tells us: “He has filled the hungry with good things.”

2. APPETITE CORRECTION – The more we feast on God and His Word, the less we want to feast on physical food. When we are truly hungry we will know it is time to eat physical food.

 


[I, Barb Shelton, am stepping in with a few additional thoughts…]

3. PEACE – There’s not one of us who does not want a feast of peace! But, sadly, most of us lack it because we are looking for it in all the wrong places. Nothing in this world is stable except for the Lord God himself, so that is where our focus needs to be – on Him: “You will keep in perfect peace (s)he whose mind is stayed on You, because (s)he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)  Our trust needs to be in God alone; not in our government, not in our financial situation, not in our job, not in our home or our stuff, not in our marriage or children. In God. Alone.

4. CONTENTMENT & SATISFACTION – Psalm 17:15, one of my all-time favorite verses, says it all: “But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing You and knowing all is well between us. And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see You face-to-face.”

5. FRUITFULNESS – So often we, as Christians, strive to be fruitful and productive, forgetting that God abiding in us is what that fruitfulness actually comes out of. In John 15:5 we read: “I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

6. MORE JESUS-LIKE – In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read: “But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.” So the main thing we need to do is to allow Him to work in us, and not wiggle away when it gets uncomfortable.

7. JOY – Too often the next thing I get to eat is my highest joy for the moment. Psalm 16:5  corrects my thinking by changing my focus to being on God: The Lord Himself is my inheritance, my prize. He is my food and drink, my highest joy! He guards all that is mine.” 

 


[Back to Marge now!]

8. POWER – This verse – I Corinthians 10:31 – challenged me to make some serious goals for many areas of my life: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all for the glory of God.” I cannot attain my goals on my own. But His Word is powerful! Victory comes by tapping into His power and ability to do for me and through me what I cannot do for myself.

 

The way to access this “feast” is prayer. Prayer is such an important part of our journey. As I said above, it’s so easy to get busy and slack on reading God’s Word. Jesus was a great example to us of what we should do during our busy times. He had a very busy life, preaching, teaching, healing, and all He did while here on earth, but still He would sneak away to talk to His Heavenly Father.

He had a special place, The Mount of Olives. Not that He didn’t commune with His Father in other places, but that was one special place that His followers knew that He went to pray. Why do you think that Judas knew where to find Jesus on that fateful day? Because He was at His special prayer place.

Do you have a special place that you get away and talk to your Heavenly Father? Find a spot or spots.I have a couple. Take the time to really be honest with Him and fellowship with Him. God doesn’t answer prayer not prayed.

 


 


Marge Purvis

(See her bio below.)