Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6 NIV
"You gotta be hungry" is a well-known phrase showing up in a variety of situations where motivation is needed. Athletes are told if they want to win, they have to be hungry, writers will never get the book written and sold unless they are hungry. Funny enough, even people on a diet are urged to be hungrier for being in good shape than they are for a quick fix.
To be hungry means to have an intense, relentless, and unquenchable desire to achieve your goals. It is a metaphor for an inner drive that forces you to work harder, persevere through difficulties, and refuse to settle for less. Being "hungry" in this context signifies a shift from just "wanting" something to being committed to the process of getting it.
That’s what Jesus was talking about when He said filling comes from hungering and thirsting for it. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit; we are in fact commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But we can’t approach it casually. What does it look like to hunger and thirst to be filled?
Unwavering determination. It means desiring to be filled so much that you do not give up, even if you feel like you have failed.
A sense of urgency. You pray and seek God consistently for His filling. You don’t want to live another day without being filled.
Willingness to surrender. Being hungry in other areas means being prepared to do what others won't do, like waking up earlier, giving up other activities – whatever it takes to receive the goal. These are the ones who achieve what others seem unable to do. God is anxious to fill us with His Spirit. It isn’t something we earn, but we must give up what we are currently “filled with,” our own control, in order to be filled with His Spirit. It is impossible otherwise.
A "must" attitude. It is the transition from "I want to be filled with the Spirit” to "I must be filled.”
A daily commitment. It is recognizing we “leak,” and therefore we live every day with the priority of being filled.
- To hunger and thirst for the filling of the Holy Spirit means having a burning passion that makes you live as though being filled with the Spirit is essential for your survival, like the need to breathe.