Weekly Verse

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  NIV

We all have felt needs. But sometimes there may come a time when a felt need is no longer felt. For instance, we usually have a felt need for food. When our body needs food, our stomach rumbles, and our body tells us it needs to be nourished. There are those that choose to ignore the hunger, and never feed their body. After awhile, the sense of hunger goes away. If this continues, the body will start to get weaker. Finally, it would not even be possible to receive nourishment because the body rejects it as thought it were something foreign. It no longer recognizes what it needs. If it is not fixed, the result could be a serious illness or even death.

The same thing can happen to us spiritually. We all have spiritual needs that need to be filled with a variety of regular nourishment. We need to feed our souls with the word of God. This is not merely reading the word, but digesting it and integrating it. We also the supportive relationships of our brethren. One of the reasons Jesus established the church is we need intense, accountable, supportive fellowship for spiritual health. That is why Jesus conducted his ministry in the context of a close-knit group of disciples. It was his method for teaching, training, and encouragement.

Nothing could be more devastating if that spiritual hunger is no longer felt. The problem may not manifest itself until spiritual health is at a critically low. For those of us that have experienced this, we need to pray that God will soften our hearts, and be open to each other once again. God can remove scar tissue that keeps us from being spiritually and emotionally available to each other. If not, it will steal the joy away from serving and worshipping God.

Adapted