A Raging Thirst for Righteousness

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6

Melodie, Nathan, Mark, Nancy, John-Mark - 1994

During our years of working among the Liberian war refugees who had fled to the Ivory Coast (1991-2002), we made an eight-hour supply trip to Abidjan every two or three months. On one such trip we had the use of a fellow missionary's pick-up, which was normally very reliable and, of great importance because of the blazing African sun, it was air conditioned. 

To our dismay, we had vehicle trouble about two hours after we left home. Mark got out of the vehicle and popped open the hood, while I sat with the kids. I had great confidence Mark would be able to fix whatever was broken in short order. However, after sitting briefly I decided it made no sense for us to be in the pick-up when we could be outside stretching a bit. Besides, although we weren't particularly thirsty, we could use this opportunity to drink some water. So, grabbing the water container, we all piled out of the vehicle. 

We were sipping languidly when a man came stumbling out of the nearby jungle. He was wearing dirty clothes and had obviously just come from his farm because the sweat was literally pouring down his face like nothing I had ever seen before. When he saw me standing next to the vehicle with my big jug of water, he looked at it with desperation, his eyes conveying a message he was too exhausted to vocalize. I quickly grabbed a cup and poured water for him. He drank it greedily and then held out the cup for more.

I have often thought of that incident. All of us were drinking the same thing—cold water. But not all of us were drinking it in the same way. The contrast between our languid sipping and the farmer's gulping desperation was marked. We "played" with the water because we felt no real need for it, while he drank deeply with an obvious awareness of deep need. 

Spiritually I have sipped languidly without ever thinking of it as such. But there came a day when I knew God was drawing me into a deeper relationship and I prayed with great honesty, "I don't hunger and thirst for righteousness, but I want to." I knew instantly this prayer pleased God and He would answer. But, even so, I was startled by the degree to which my hunger and thirst came. No more languid drinking of the living water Jesus offered. Instead I felt desperate for it—a raging thirst for righteousness. 

And I found Jesus' words to be absolutely true. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled."

Waterfall near Gbarnga, Liberia

See "What Not toWear"—Liberia Edition.