“Sometimes we have to work to find delight in God’s Word. Jeremiah said that when he ate God’s words, they became a joy. They don’t become a joy sitting on a shelf. We have to taste to receive them.…” Dug Down Deep, by Joshua Harris, p. 71.
If you’ve ever given up sugar (assuming, of course, that you’re in the majority and include sugar as a dietary staple), you might have noticed that your body went through stages of withdrawal. Stage 1 – Craving. You want sugar all the time in nearly any form. For me, this lasts about 10 days. Stage 2 – Contentment. The cravings stop and you’re satisfied with your new, healthier way of eating. Stage 3 – The Aha Moment. You realize that these healthy foods actually do have flavor. The really good, I-could-actually-live-on-this sort of flavor. Foods you didn’t care for are delicious. Foods that you liked, you love. And those sugary foods don’t hold much appeal for you anymore. When you do decide to indulge in something decadent and sugary, the anticipation far outweighs the actual flavor. Stage 4 – Wisdom. What’s best for you tastes really yummy and you know it.
Isn’t our spiritual diet like this? We devour (at least I do) much reading material, but sometimes don’t have much appetite for our health food. Scripture doesn’t tempt me. Like salad at an all-you-can-eat buffet, I often read my obligatory chapter before moving on to the “good stuff.”
Only if we persevere, if we cut out the sugary “foods” (and this can be good, Christian material like fiction, blogs, e-mails, etc.), and eat primarily the healthy stuff, our cravings for the sugary stuff decreases and our cravings for the Word of God increases. And if we persevere, we will reach the point where we get it. Not only is Scripture the best food for us, but it tastes better than anything else.
So let me encourage you today to taste from God’s Word.
Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts. --Jeremiah 15:16 (NASB)
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1 comment:
Thank you for sharing. I have been pondering my non-appetite for Scripture lately. But thankfully, God has also blessed me with a tool (I have to use--requirement by someone else) that is helping me develop a desire for His word. Slow, but it's progress. I'm afraid to "fast" from the things I like.... it sounds uncomfortable, or something.
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