Eat My Words

             Have you ever noticed the different metaphors used for God's Word?  There's water, light, food, seed, rain, fire, and even a sword. The diversity of metaphors testifies to the Bible's ability to address a diversity of human conditions (even as the variety of "I AM" statements in John testify to Jesus' sufficiency to meet a variety of human needs).

            #1 - "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105).  Do you ever feel lost?  Do you feel like you're wandering through your days, one sunrise after another, with no clue as to what you're doing or where you're going?  God's Word is a light and a lamp, and as with any light, it only does you good if you turn it on.  Jesus asked a "no-brainer" in Mark 4:21: "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed?" If you own a Bible, you possess the greatest source of wisdom, insight, light and direction in all the world. So if you find yourself wandering aimlessly, frustrated for a lack of purpose or direction, it could be that this Light is "under your bed," unused and under-appreciated. God promises in Psalm 32:8 to "instruct you and teach you in the way you should go," but there's a condition. The very next verse warns, "Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you."  Apparently, the blessings of God's counsel are only for those who seek God and stay near him long enough to hear his voice. 

            #2 - "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4). How long would you survive if you stopped eating? A month? A year? Realize that God's Word is your very life (Deut 32:47). Can any of you relate to feeling malnourished, weak or under-energized?  If so, perhaps you've been reading your Bible but failing to digest any of its truth. Like hovering over a gourmet meal, you smell its fragrance, appreciate its beauty, but for all its loveliness, you forget to eat it!  Naturally, you'll go away from such an experience thoroughly unsatisfied.  When the prophet Jeremiah found God's words, he feasted on them. "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart" (Jer 15:16). 

            If you lack wisdom and direction, know that God's Word is a light and lamp.  But perhaps you've been reading your Bible, yet without much benefit. Maybe you can't say with Jeremiah, "[God's] words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart." Next week, we'll explore this topic further and discuss some helpful ways to "eat" God's Word... and be satisfied!