“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

To be “hungry” or “thirsty” means having a strong desire or craving. That is the kind of desire you must have about gaining righteousness.

What is Righteousness?

Dictionaries define righteousness as “behavior that is morally justifiable or right.” Such behavior is characterized by accepted standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness.

The Bible’s definition of Righteousness

According to Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, “God the Father is righteous (just); Jesus Christ his Son is the Righteous (Just) One; the Father through the Son and in the Spirit gives the gift of righteousness (justice) to repentant sinners for salvation; such believing sinners are declared righteous (just) by the Father through the Son, are made righteous (just) by the Holy Spirit working in them, and will be wholly righteous (just) in the age to come. They are and will be righteous because they are in a covenant relation with the living God, who is the God of all grace and mercy and who will bring to completion what he has begun in them by declaring them righteous for Christ's sake.”

The Bible describes the righteous person as just or right, holding to God and trusting in Him (Psalm 33:18–22).

We all fall short of God’s righteousness!

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)

The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.

 You cannot become righteous by your own efforts!

True righteousness is possible for mankind only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have no ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But Christians possess the righteousness of Christ, because “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21)

Weare made righteous in the sight of God because of Jesus!

We are accepted as righteous and treated as righteous by God on account of what the Lord Jesus has done for us on the cross. He was made sin; we are "made the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:21). On the cross, Jesus was treated as if He were a sinner, though He was perfectly holy and pure, and we are treated as if we were righteous, though we are defiled and depraved. On account of what the Lord Jesus has endured on our behalf, we are treated as if we had entirely fulfilled the Law of God and had never become exposed to its penalty. We have received this precious gift of righteousness from the God of all mercy and grace.

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:20)

The Bible is the best instruction book and it covers everything needed to prosper in any situation.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6)

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer. 17:7-8)

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” (Prov. 29:25)

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.'” (Psalm 91:1-2)

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13)

If we focus on all the scary and alarming things happening around the world instead of the Word of God, it could cause us to lose heart. But, we do have the Word of God to encourage us andto tell us about the wonderful plans He has for us.

God has a great future planned!

God is going to create a new heaven and new earth for us! Weare temporary here and have a great future to look forward to!

“'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” (Jer. 29:11)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” (Titus 2:11)

Grace is God's unmerited favor and blessings

Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowing of blessings. It is unmerited mercy (favor) that God gave to humanity by sending his son to die on a cross, thus delivering eternal salvation.

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace." (Ephesians 1:7)

"This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:22-24)

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)

"For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" (Romans 5:17)

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us.” (Ephesians 2:4)

Mercy: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. It is leniency, clemency, compassion, grace, pity, charity, forgiveness, forbearance, soft-heartedness, tenderheartedness, kindness, sympathy, liberality, indulgence, tolerance, and generosity.

God is rich in mercy!

We have a powerful and merciful God. He knows we have all fallen short of His glory, but His mercy is incredible.

“For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call on you.” (Psalm 86:5)

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.” (Psalm 86:5)

God is the embodiment of perfect goodness, and is kind, benevolent, and full of good will toward all creation

“O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)

“O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (1 Chr. 16:34)

“Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me.” (Psalm 69:16)

“For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)

“The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.” (Nahum 1:7)

"Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way." (Psalm 25:8)

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” (Deut. 7:9)

God is Faithful! Always!

People will and do fail you sometimes. It's just the way it is and if you aren't careful, you could believe God will somehow fail you, too! But, God cannot fail, ever! It's just impossible because God is God and He is always 100% faithful, and He must always be 100% faithful to His Word. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13 ESV)

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Num. 23:19 ESV)

All God’s work is done in faithfulness

“For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.” (Psalm 33:4)

His faithfulness establishes and guards you!

“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” (2 Thes. 3:3)

His faithfulness protects you against extreme temptation

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Cor. 10:13)

God’s faithfulness brings you steadfast love and mercies, which are new every morning, and never ends

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23)

“God is an ever-present help in the time of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

He's always with you! 

God is always present whether you see Him or not! The verse above says that Heis “ever-present.” No matter where you go, He is there with you. And no matter what you find yourself going through, He is aware of it. So, do not fear! Claim this promise and go to Him immediately whenever anything happens. He will strengthen and help you!

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

And, it's because of God’s wonderful love for you! The following verses says it best

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.  Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? Asthe Scriptures say, 'For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.' No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39 NLT)