Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled… Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:6,10

It can be frustrating for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness to see the evil that seems to be flourishing in our country. We might wonder, “How can we feel blessed even in the midst of open wickedness?”. A great place to look is the account of Elijah from 1 Kings 18-19, and I encourage you to stop and read those two chapters if you can. 1 Kings 18 is good background, but I want to focus on chapter 19. In chapter 18, Elijah, who had been on the run for at least three years, confronts the false prophets of Baal that were honored by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel at Mt. Carmel. In that confrontation, God reveals that He is the true God by sending fire from Heaven to consume not only the sacrifice, but also the altar itself, that Elijah had prepared. This was after the false prophets failed to get their false idol, Baal, to respond similarly.

Despite this showing, Ahab and Jezebel continued to try to kill Elijah. Discouraged, Elijah sat down under a tree and hoped to die. Elijah was tired of doing good only for it to result in further persecution. If the people wouldn’t respond to that show of force, what would they respond to? Elijah was starving to see righteousness done in the land. But God was merciful to Elijah and miraculously provided food and water for him. God literally kept that promise that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness would be filled. Having been filled by God, Elijah was reinvigorated to continue to serve the Lord in righteousness even in the face of opposition.

Yesterday, many churches observed Reformation Sunday, when we are reminded of the courage of Martin Luther and others as they boldly took their stand on the Word of God. It was his hunger and thirst for righteousness that opened Luther’s eyes to the true meaning of the Gospel. Having finally been filled by the righteousness of the Gospel, Luther was compelled to proclaim this message to all who would listen. At first, Luther believed that this message would be received well, or at least with a willingness to consider the Scriptures that had rescued him from the despair of death.

However, when his proclamation of the Gospel was met with fierce opposition, Luther only grew in boldness and resolve. He did not give up, even though this was not the path he thought he was starting down when he nailed his 95 Theses to the church door. Whenever he was discouraged, he found his courage and boldness in the Word of God.  This reliance is seen in his refusal to recant at the  Diet of Worms, saying, “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other. My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything.”

So, too, we can grow discouraged and feel like we want to give up when we see many around us giving in to the pressures of our exceedingly pagan culture. But we mustn’t. When we feel like giving up, we need to be filled by God. This is why it is so important to be part of a church that preaches and teaches the truth and power of God’s Word. It is through that Word, the Bread of Life from Heaven, that we are filled. It is through the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ, that we are given the righteousness of God – a promise that is fulfilled time and time again as we receive His Body and Blood – True Food and True Drink (see John 6:55) – in Holy Communion. And having been filled, we are given the strength to continue to do those acts of righteousness God has called us to do. The Holy Spirit, working through those Means of Grace, also gives us the courage to reject the pagan and immoral teachings of this world. We must encourage others to stand firm and reject those who would pressure us to follow their false gods and to reject the True God. We must proclaim this message with urgency even when it is met with opposition. For like in the days of Elijah, those who reject the True God are choosing death and rejecting life.

The urgency and importance of this message will not change in the next few weeks no matter the outcome of the elections. In many states, there are referendums on the ballot regarding abortion. No matter the outcome, we must remain vigilant in proclaiming the sanctity of life. For there will always be those who will promote the killing of preborn babies no matter what laws are in place. And in areas where restrictions on abortion are lifted, we must be there to encourage mothers to choose life for their preborn children. And our message should not be limited to physical life, but we must always proclaim the necessity of bringing our children to new spiritual life in Christ as well. Ultimately, it is the rejection of the Gospel that compels people to choose death over life.

Today, Jesus is giving each of us that offer of new life in Him. In John 6:35, Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” May we never lose our hunger and thirst for righteousness. Having been filled by the righteousness of Christ, may we never give up in the face of opposition but continue to proclaim to others the hope that is only found in the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ.