Confession: I love to eat. Food makes the day so much more interesting. It is one of my favorite hobbies to tour America by restaurant!
Most of us rarely go a few hours without feeding our bodies…much less a full day! Yet many a believer goes days without feeding his inner man. There are so many malnourished souls in our world! Busy people trying to function without the sustenance that can come only from God’s Word. It is no wonder that many are weak and faltering. They do not have the strength to carry on.
Our generation is more acquainted with feasting than fasting. We are tempted to give more attention to the body that will soon be gone than to the inner man who will last forever. The most important meal you will eat today is obtaining food for your soul.
The Bible, God’s written Word, is the only thing that can satisfy spiritual hunger pangs. It is sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103). It is the true bread (Matthew 4:4). It is milk (1 Peter 2:2). It is meat (Hebrews 5:12-14). No wonder Job said, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).
Recently I was reminded again how much I need the Word of God fresh in my soul every day. How stale we can get, starving our life of the very life-giving power of God’s Word. But when we feed on the Scriptures there is such joy and blessing! Jeremiah testified, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).
Remember that God was the One who designed fresh manna to be gathered by His people each morning (Exodus 16). Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). During His earthly ministry His schedule was to be “daily in the temple teaching” (Mark 14:49). He has a daily Word – daily bread, daily manna for us all!
The life the Lord designed for His people requires that we come back to Him every day for the bread of life.
There is no “fast food” for the soul. It takes time. Sit down at His table. No one prepares a meal like He does! Feed on the Scriptures. Take time to digest them. Allow them to sink in to the deep places of your heart.
There is no “meal substitute” in the Christian life. We need the Word of God. No devotional book or religious reading can take the place of God’s truth. There is health and help in that God breathed book! The Lord declares that man needs daily wisdom: “Blessed is the man that hearth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors” (Proverbs 8:34). Daily wisdom comes from the daily Word.
There is no new “meal plan” to become strong in the Lord. Constantly we must return to the basics. For years I have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I believe that in the nourishment of the soul this is indeed the case. George Mueller wrote, “The first thing I should do every day was to get my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about…was how my inner man might be nourished.” Mueller went on to say that as he meditated in the Word of God he found food for his soul and often bread to pass along to others as well. We must learn to begin the day – every day – feeding on God’s wonderful Word.
The believers in Berea are an example to us all. Paul said of them, “they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Be ready to receive what God has prepared for you today! Search the Scriptures daily – and start today.
Daily Challenge: For the next week set aside a few minutes at the beginning and end of each day to read and meditate on Scripture. Find a quiet place and give God’s Word your undivided attention.
