Feeding On God’s Word
By Shela Ervin
Our souls were created by God, for God, to feed on the knowledge of him. He gave us his Word as food for the soul, packed with nourishment tailor made for his image bearing creatures.
The problem is that life in this sin sick world presents an endless buffet of temptations, distractions, and bold faced lies, all competing for real estate in our hearts and minds.
But remember: that which we fill our minds with will nourish our hearts. It will bear the fruit of the good or bad nutrients we put inside.
My soul longs for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
Psalm 119:81
I hope in your word.
Psalm 119:81
And that which we regularly feed on cultivates the appetite. Please believe me when I say that the acquired taste of God’s pure and perfect Word is the taste, texture, nourishment, and sustenance you will never be able to unlearn. Its goodness and riches merit more Michelin stars than the heavens hold.
Our children enter the world ready to cultivate an appetite. If we feed them high-sugar and highly processed foods, it will bear the fruit of physical, emotional, and mental sluggishness. Similarly, if we permit a steady diet of ideas and beliefs devoid of love and trust in God, we should not be surprised if their lives over time show the fruit of difficulty and unrest.
Let’s feed them the good stuff, the enduring truth, promises kept and to be fulfilled, spoken by God himself. Their appetites are ours to steward by what we present to them at the dining table. Let’s make the pattern of feeding on God’s Word the most normal, instinctual, central part of life together in our families.
Some practical encouragements as you feed on the Word together:
- Tie your Bible time to breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.
What better metaphor than this pairing? As you fill yourselves with eggs, toast, potatoes, and jam, open God’s Word together, read, and discuss! - Monitor your home’s intake.
Our world is noisy, and our devices don’t make it any easier. Take a step back and assess everything your family is intaking on a daily basis (e.g., music, shows, movies, news, podcasts, social media, magazines, books). Sometimes, all of our intake may leave little room for meditation on the Word that we need. Peel back on a few sources of intake to help clear your hearts and minds to consider God’s enduring Word. - Reference what you’ve read.
Most of our learning happens in discussion, reflection, and debrief. Avoid compartmentalizing your Bible intake. Bring up the passage you read as it relates to aspects of your daily life. - Start small and keep the habit.
This practice is not for show, but for a lifestyle. Don’t bit off more than you might be able to chew, and start with reading a few verses. Make the practice manageable so that a habit is built and rhythms of opening the Word together becomes second nature in your home.
Shela is a happy helpmate to her husband in gospel ministry, mom to two young ones, and creates goods & resources with hopes to strengthen Kingdom families into Christ until he comes.
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