Devotional | SPIRITUAL APPETITE (2)

THE WORD FOR TODAY
Written by Bob and Debby Gass
Presented by Winsome Sherrier Witter


Prolonged starvation can have a profound effect on your health. You lose your ability to think clearly. Your vision gets blurry. Your strength wanes, and you stop being productive. Guess what? It's the same with your spiritual life. Jesus said, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God' (Matthew 4:4 NIV).

So, knowing that, why don't we spend time reading the Bible? We know it's essential to our spiritual, mental and emotional health. Yet we fail to do it or do it inconsistently. Why? (1) Because we're not motivated. We haven't experienced the joy that comes from personally discovering great truths from God's Word. We grow complacent and settle for having our spiritual food handed to us by other people. When we get serious about studying the Bible for ourselves, we'll never again be satisfied with second-hand knowledge. (2) Because we don't know how. We hear a great sermon and think, 'Why didn't I see that?' Because most church leaders spend hours studying the Scriptures we don't! (3) Because we get lazy. Bible study requires self-discipline. It takes time, effort, concentration and persistence. Most great truths don't lie on the surface; we have to dig for them.

In the Old Testament when Israel 'sought God eagerly...he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side' (2 Chronicles 15:15 NIV). And God will do that for us too!


#inspiration #encouragement #empowerment