Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Psalm 34:38
Literally.
I’d left a Bible sitting on the couch and we came home to this. You’d think the Worst/Best at 10 years old would be over eating the stuff she shouldn’t. For years you could leave things laying around, except for socks, and she wouldn’t mess with them. Now, all of the sudden, she’s decided to eat it if it’s laying there. The other thing the Worst/Best has taken to chewing on is an old magazine we roll up to encourage her not to jump through the window when a car goes by with a whack on the bottom (don’t go all PETA on me a whack with a magazine doesn’t hurt a 90 pound, fully unglued, dog). It just seems a little ironic to me that the two things meant for good in life (hers and ours) don’t really work unless applied.
When I saw this chewed on Bible, so many thoughts came to my mind – I’m sure they did to yours as well. Initially I was annoyed, but then I thought she did something I (we) should all be doing. But the one thought that gave me pause was that I want to be that hungry for the Word of God. So hungry that I want to completely devour like Jeremiah.
When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.
Jeremiah 15:16
What food for thought. I won’t belabor the many metaphors and puns that immediately come to my mind about this incident. I’m sure your wheels are turning too. But, it does remind that the Word of the Lord is to be consumed, not by dog, but by man. (It does not good just sitting on the couch.) In fact, many versions call it feasting — feast on the Word of the Lord. If we are followers of Christ, why would we not want to take it in? It is our provision, our sustenance, our life. It is meant to be read, absorbed and applied to our lives.
We can come up with all kinds of reasons excuses for not feasting on the Word of the Lord, but James laid it out too perfectly for us, didn’t he – to know what we’re supposed to do and not do it is a big problem. Here’s the thing, the Word can change our lives but not if we don’t read it. The Word is filled with such love, hope, encouragement, promise, comfort, peace, mercy and grace. Don’t we all need just a little bit of that in our lives? The Word is also filled with protection, instruction, teaching, boundaries, and guidance. Don’t we all need just a little bit of that in our lives as well?
Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 8:3
Think on it.