My children can always get me laughing. They have this secret talent which I’m sure will never be a claim to fame. They can sing all of the commercial jingles for all of the restaurant establishments that appear on television. From Subway’s, “Five Dollar Foot Long Jingle,” to Chili’s “Baby Back Ribs Jingle,” they know the words and the melody. So what do you like to eat? The Bible says we are to eat the Word.
Some people hear that and find it puzzling. Who eats the Word? It’s written on paper. Well it was good enough for Ezekiel. God said, “Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you“ (Ezekiel 2:8b NASB). Ezekiel ate a scroll fed to him by God, and “it was sweet as honey“ (3:3). When Jeremiah was praying to God, he said, “Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16a NASB).
So are we to eat the Word? Deuteronomy 8:8 states, “that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD” (NASB). We are to ingest the Word, so we must eat it. The question then is how do we eat the Word, because we aren’t supposed to follow suit in the manner of Ezekiel. Ephesians 6:18 tells us the manner to follow this directive is through prayer and petition. Simply put, we pray and read our Bibles.
We can get busy with our daily lives. It seems like when we are not working, we are still busy with something to keep us occupied or on the move. At times we neglect to read the Word enough. Now Jeremiah said that when He ate the Word, it was “the delight of (his) heart.” I feel the same way. Every morning I aim to start my day off with my daily devotionals and my own personal Bible reading. If I get through the reading and the devotionals, I have a good start to my day. I feel better. It’s like I had a spoonful of honey. If something came up and my plan was derailed, my day starts off bad from the beginning, and the rest of the day is a steady decline until I get my Bible open.
Perhaps you are making some pasta for dinner tonight or maybe you treating the family to some fine dining. Maybe you have a lot on the schedule and you will have to sneak in a quick meal at some fast food place. No matter where you eat, take some time to eat the Word. The Word is great for your body, great for your mind, and it’s always good to chew on.
Tania Gutekunst 