Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Have you ever been hungry? No I don't mean, have you ever felt like you needed food because it had been 12 hours since you last ate. Have you ever been hungry? Have you ever had your intestines gnawing on your backbone and trying to fry up your kidneys and boil your liver because you had not had sustenance in a while? Have you ever experienced true hunger where all you can think about is food, you dream food, you can taste food, it becomes one of the soul focuses of your day. I'm not talking about wanting to eat, I am talking about going without and not having enough to satisfy.

This last week, I was sitting in the company truck out on the ramp in front of the airport. I was waiting for a plane to land and taxi in that was going through some operational tests due to engine work that we had done on it. When it landed, I was supposed to go out and get the crew and take them back to the maintenance base, while the airplane (assuming that it passed all the tests) would be loaded with passengers and would fly to Dallas. Its 6am in the morning and foggy. I cant see more than 500-600 feet in front of me. I have my blinkers on and my flashers going, when I see the silhouette of my plane, I will flash my headlamps at them so they see where I am. The last thing I had eaten was a bowl of rice at lunch (1am) and for breakfast, since I was out of eggs, butter, milk, and orange juice, I had a slice of toast (now out of bread) and a bowl of cereal. When I get home from work, I am typically too tired to do much more than clean off the grease and grime in the shower, and then fall asleep as soon as possible in bed. So I had not eaten anything then either. My stomach was no longer silent, or even just grumbling quietly at me, It was yelling and screaming and begging. I could only think about food. The first thing I would do when I got the crew back to the base was to grab some food from the vending machines or so I thought. Nope. I didn't get back to the base until it was time to leave. I grabbed my keys, clocked out, and with my stomach throwing a tantrum (at a volume to which the guys I work with were staring at me) I got into my car and drove. I stopped at a small greasy spoon cafe in my town and ordered myself the four egg cheese omelet special with a side of pancakes. It took them a while to make my order, I had to wait some more with my stomach still pitching it's hissyfit. The food was delicious when it arrived 30 minutes later.

We can hunger after anything. We can hunger after food, we can hunger after power, after love, after money, after cars, after grades, after influence, after popularity, and even after knowledge! I could have gone to the McDonald's just down the street and had myself some greasy fastfood and it would have filled my stomach and quieted down the noise, but it would only last so long. The nutritional value is negligent and that is what I truly needed, not just more stuff in my stomach, but I needed the stuff that my stomach and body need (not just want), Many things will satisfy us for the time being, for a moment, for a second. But there is only one thing that we can hunger after, yearn for, and desire that will completely satisfy us. Righteousness. We not only need to seek after it with every fiber of our being, despite the jeers of our coworkers, despite the derision of society, despite our own wants for instant gratification. We need to seek after it, and we need to wait for it.

I am God the Lord Who saved thee,
And from cruel bondage freed;
Open wide thy mouth of longing;
I will satisfy thy need.