ARE YOU HUNGRY? FIND RIGHTEOUSNESS AND BE FILLED

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.

Proverbs 10:3, 13:25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

NOTE: From Proverbs, Chapter 10 through Chapter 22:16, Solomon writes a series of individual proverbs for us to consider. I will try and group similar proverbs in my devotions as I cover what Solomon wrote over these chapters.

I have a few questions for you:

Why do you read the Bible?

What is it about the book that draws you to it?

My hope is that you read the Bible and crave God’s word because you seek to be fulfilled in some way spiritually, that you might be spiritually fed to maintain spiritual health.

Note this word from Jesus to Satan in response to the first attempted temptation in Matthew, Chapter 4. Quoting words that were spoken by Moses, Jesus said:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

The word of God is as vital to our spiritual health as food is to our physical sustenance. If you don’t believe this then let me frame it up for you.

No one in their right mind would only eat once a week. It would be crazy, right? Surely it would lead to major health issues before long. I mean, how could someone even function properly without nourishment?

And so we eat and we eat regularly. We’re almost obsessed at time with our food. We crave it and can’t wait to get a taste of it.

If only it were that way spiritually.

For Jesus tells us that we can’t live on bread alone. If we think food is enough, we’re mistaken. For we only truly live through the word of God and that word is found in the scriptures. And yet, so many people go to church on Sunday, open the Bible, hear and read a scripture passage, and then go home, never opening another Bible until they return to church the following Sunday.

Maybe I’m talking about you.

This practice is akin to spiritually starving yourself and it’s just as dangerous as not eating physically. For know our enemy Satan is looking for anyone who is weak and vulnerable spiritually so he might attack them and drag them away from righteousness and into sinfulness. It’s little wonder that Paul described our main means of defense against Satan as being the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17b). Without the word of the Lord, we’re not just starving spiritually but we’re defenseless against Satan’s attack as well.

It’s little wonder then why when Jesus taught us to pray, He included that we should ask God to give us our daily bread. He wasn’t just telling us to ask for food on our plates. No, it was far more than that for we need to also petition for spiritual nourishing, for something to fill our heart and mind and soul. We need to hunger for righteousness.

Friends, that’s what we find each and every time we study the word of God through the Bible. We seek and find righteousness, the way that we are to live through the One who is THE Way and THE Truth and THE Life (John 14:6), the only One who can guide us as Christians because He (Jesus) is the One we are to model ourselves after. Jesus promised us that we would find satisfaction each and every time we looked for the right way to live when He said:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6

We’re not always pleased when we physically eat. Sometimes we go away disappointed. Sometimes we go away still feeling hungry. Not so when we feed ourselves spiritually from the word of the Lord. For we’ll always come away blessed or happy from our spiritual experience, ever filled and content. Solomon had this to say in the Proverbs, words which reinforce the words of our Savior:

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. Proverbs 10:3

The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry. Proverbs 13:25

Indeed, the Lord will never let anyone go away void when they seek Him. No one will be hungry and can eat all they want from the buffet of God’s word, dining on His wisdom and direction until their heart is content. For you always dine on the best spiritual food possible when you dine at the Lord’s table.

So the final questions become:

Are you hungry? I mean, are you spiritually hungry for the word of God and the righteousness it provides?

If so, then come. Come, dine with the Lord, and feed yourself spiritually. Open up your Bible today and every day you’re blessed with and be filled. Know and trust that when you do, you’ll never leave the table disappointed or empty.

Amen. 

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com