“I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” (Job 23:12b)
Have you ever been excited about a special meal you were going to eat? Maybe it was your school’s macaroni and cheese, your Mom’s yummy lasagna, or Grandma’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes. And even peanut butter and jelly can look pretty good when you are hungry! Because each one of us is special, we all like different foods. Jack’s idea of a tasty treat might be Jane’s idea of terrible torture. Whether you like Mexican, Italian, Chinese, French, or Grandma’s cooking best, we can all agree upon one thing: We all like to eat! We expect to eat several times every day, sometimes more.
Almost everyone has a very healthy physical appetite. But how is your spiritual “appetite”? Did you know that God’s Word ought to be more important to us than meeting our everyday needs like food and drink? Have you ever given God’s Word the same amount of attention you give to your body’s daily food?
The Bible says, “Desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). This verse uses a word picture that compares God’s Word with daily food that we need to survive. “Sincere” food means the “real thing,” food that is not just fake or unsatisfying. We can be sure that God’s Word is satisfying, rich, and very, very good. “O taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8).
But how do you get the “daily food” of God’s Word? When we eat breakfast, lunch, and supper, we are meeting our physical needs. When we read the Bible we are feeding our spiritual needs. Just as you must eat to stay strong, so you must read and “digest” God’s Word regularly so that you can be spiritually “healthy.”
Maybe making the Bible that much a part of your regular spiritual “diet” just sounds like way too much work for you. Think about how important your spiritual health is, even compared to your physical health! For example, would you ever treat your daily mealtimes with as little concern as you do your quiet time with God? Would you ever say, “Hmm. Tomorrow is going to be a really busy day for me. Maybe I should just skip breakfast, lunch, and supper! Sure! After all, it will save time, and I will definitely remember to eat the day after that!”
No way. That does not sound like such a good idea after all. Your day would not be better because you skipped meals! Your day would be worse! You would be very tired and hungry, and your body would be even weaker and less ready to do what you needed to get done! What a mistake!
But that is what many Christians do in the spiritual sense. They think, “I can wait on this,” or “I can skip today, no problem–I’ll just start reading and praying again tomorrow, or sometime next week when I have more time.”
You may not always feel like it, but you do need spiritual food every single day. If you do not get the strength you need from God’s Word and from spending time with Him every single day, then you will be spiritually weak and flabby. On the other hand, the more we “eat” (or, take in) the Word, the stronger we will be against the devil’s temptations to sin.
We cannot survive spiritually without God’s Word.
My Response:
» Do I strengthen myself by taking in God’s Word daily, or am I spiritually weak from “skipping meals”?
» If I am not paying attention to God’s Word daily, what does that say about how important I really think it is?