To Thirst or Not To Thirst December 3, 2014

³⁵ And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  John 6:35 ESV


1As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Psalm 42:1-2 ESV 

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

I am not trying to pick a bone with Jesus.  That would be foolhardy and perhaps disastrous.  But I would welcome any insight into John 6:35.  

Jesus is not referring to physical hunger and thirst.  There have been, still are, and always will be Christians who suffer from physical hunger and thirst.  One of the last words Christ spoke on the cross were, "I thirst", referring to a physical need.  John 19:28 ESV

So Christ must have been referring to a spiritual hunger and thirst.  Yet as shown in the verses from Psalm and Matthew, a spiritual thirst and hunger are desirable.

If Christ is not referring to the physical and other verses seem to point to the value of a spiritual hunger and thirst, what is His reference in John 6:35?

Me thinks that perhaps the reason today's verse struck me so hard is the spiritual thirst and hunger I am currently feeling.  The ministry in which I have been involved for the past three/four years has been shut down, two other ministry openings at church have been filled, and I am struggling to discern God's will for my involvement in a specific ministry.  There is a certain restlessness in my soul.