“Delighting in His Word and obeying His commandments are ways
I know I can always get my hunger and thirst back.”
— Estelle Martin
kingdom. Personally, I have had to consider and evaluate
how much time I spend in His presence and in His Word
and compare it with how much time I spend doing the
work of the ministry. To regain my hunger and thirst for
more of Him, I must make it a priority to climb up into my
Daddy’s (Abba Father’s) lap just because I want to be there,
gaze upon His glory, and soak in His presence. Once I am
there and receive the joy and kisses of His fragrant Spirit,
and even His chastening, I will come back for more for
there’s no other place where I can find real peace, rest, joy
and strength for the journey that completely satisfies. Also
delighting in His Word and obeying His commandments
are ways I know I can always get my hunger and thirst
back.
L+L: The New Living Translation renders Matthew
5:6 as, “God blesses those who hunger and thirst
for justice, for they will be satisfied.” Justice is a hot
topic these days. Do you see a difference between
righteousness and justice? If so, what do you think
it means to hunger and thirst for justice?
Estelle Martin: “Justice” is making things right that are
unfair in society and is more about legal and systemic
problems. “Righteousness” is doing right by people,
especially the vulnerable. It is more about our good deeds,
acts of generosity toward those in need. To hunger and
thirst for justice is to deeply desire things in society and in
our legal system to be right, equal and fair for all people
and not ignore the cries for social equity. I think of the
beginning of the Lord’s Prayer, “… Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven.” It means I want what God wants.
My heart breaks for what breaks His, and I know He would
want us, His people, called by His name, to pray and seek
to long for His answers to the problems of injustice and
not satisfy an agenda.
Laura Warth: I have the New King James Version that I’ve
had since I got saved at 18 years old, so I’ve only seen that
version as “righteousness.” God says we are to love justice.
God is a just God and makes things right, but I think that
word “justice,” in people’s modern eyes, seems just to
make things right for the underprivileged and those who
pg. 10 — lightandlifemagazine.com
have been mistreated — handling things in legal matters
more so than in heart matters.
L+L: What are some times in your life when you’ve
sought or experienced God’s righteousness or
justice?
Laura Warth: That 2013 experience was just the
beginning. God began to reveal to me other areas of my
life. Obviously from then to now, I’ve remained with
God and am spending a lot of time in a place of prayer
regularly. There’s always something that God is revealing.
A lot of Christians and pastors who are married and
doing ministry, they don’t understand we are to honor
one another. God began to deal with me. He said, “Honor
your husband.” I said, “Lord, teach me how to honor him.”
It’s part of righteousness, because it’s doing what’s right in
God’s eyes. I was the breadwinner for the first three years
of launching the church where Laura’s husband, Brian,
serves as the lead pastor. I just had this perspective of it’s
whoever makes the most money, or I know more because
I’ve been out here working and taking care of business.
God began to rewire my perspective, and He began to
speak to me about the little things that we don’t even
realize.
Estelle Martin: The first time I sought and experienced
God’s righteousness and justice was when I cried out to
receive His Son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to save
me from my life of sin and separation from Him. The
blood of Jesus covered me, His amazing grace came in
and flooded my soul with love, mercy and forgiveness. I
did not deserve (justice), and I was made righteous by the
righteousness of Christ. There are numerous times when
I have had to earnestly seek His righteousness because, as
a flawed human being, I depend on His perfect Word and
His Holy Spirit to help me live a life holy and acceptable
unto Him. When I seek Him through prayer, He opens
doors to show me how to demonstrate His righteousness
and justice toward others by doing the right thing and
foregoing the tendency to judge them. If I listen, He
imparts godly wisdom and discernment that is fair,
equitable and God-honoring.
/lightandlifemagazine.com