Words are Food

Jesus had much to say about “bread and the word”. He made the following statements:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and He who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
“I am the living bread, and the words I speak are spirit and they are life.”
He went on to teach His disciples to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Matthew. 4:4, 6:11; John 6:35, 63

When our physical bodies are hungry, we go and eat. It’s as simple as that. We can even do it without giving much thought to it other than, “What is there to eat?” or “What do I feel like eating?” And in my case, if there’s a bag of chips, or leftover popcorn anywhere near me, I can start eating without even thinking, because I’ve developed some bad eating habits. I’ve found out in my own life that hard as it may seem to be, bad habits are breakable, and good habits are “makeable.” I’ve actually developed a taste for foods I never thought I could eat. I did this by tasting them, eating them because I knew they were good for me, and telling myself over and over, “I sure do like this!” Truthfully, (weren’t we talking about speaking truth in Article 3?) my husband Harlas taught me how to do this. He was the one who learned to like Diet Pepsi as opposed to Pepsi by telling himself that he sure liked it, and how good it tasted. And He’s the one who keeps saying to me, “Here, Sharon, just try a bite/drink of this.” Thanks, Harlas!

The same dynamic applies to our spiritual “body”, our “inner man”, or the “hidden man of the heart” as our spirit is sometimes called. Our spirits need spiritual food daily. Spiritual food feeds our spirits so they can grow and be healthy and strong. Jesus’ words are spirit and they are life. God’s words are our spiritual food and they are life, they build and sustain life in us! Come on, try a bite!

From my experience, the more of the Word I read and speak and put into my mind, the more of the Word I want to read. I can “eat” until I’m full! Referring to the Scripture verses above, this fullness is meant to be achieved daily. In that sense, every day I can eat my fill and not be hungry for that day. We Christians talk of hungering and thirsting after more of God. That may sound like an opposite stance from never hungering or thirsting, but the meaning behind that is that we don’t have to go hungry or thirsty, for when we come to Jesus, He fills us up. The daily part means that every day we can eat until we are saturated with the Word. Then we go away from the “table” and let the Word settle in our hearts; we meditate on it, and let God speak to us through those words. Then the next day we eat or read more. This is the way our spirits grow, and the way we increase our capacity to learn more, and understand more of the Word. And our lives are changed by this! We grow as a person on the inside.

God’s Word is Spirit and Life! When we read His Word, it is like pumping life into us! Picture it as getting a blood transfusion of pure untainted, healthy blood. And the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the Breath of Life. Reading God’s Word is like breathing in oxygen, which our lungs need desperately to live! Our inner man is literally hungering and thirsting for the Word of God.

When God reveals or makes a verse in the Bible clear to me, it is the most exciting thing! Has your life become humdrum or sort of blah? Do you want to feel alive? Try “eating” a daily dose of God’s Word! This will sustain you throughout your day, and change your life!