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Day 13Savor The Slow Food of the Word Wednesday, February 28, 2018
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16
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Devotional:
There are times when solitude is better than company, and silence, wiser than speech and strolling, healthier than sprinting.You may have heard of the Slow Food Movement, a large community of people who believe that in our current culture, we are enslaved by speed,and that we miss the deeper things because of our frenzied pace of living. They offer a firm defense that the practice of quiet pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment is the only way to “stop the madness.”
“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.” Isaiah 55:2
We need to defend our quiet time and luxuriate in the pleasures of dining on the Slow Food of the Word. We ought to deliberately savor the things of God, because that is how we get the real nutrition and deep satisfaction out of them.
“The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine.” Isaiah 25:6
Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: in order to have wine from it, we must bruise it, press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser's feet must come down joyfully on the bunches or else the juice will not flow. The grapes must be properly tread or much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth if we desire the wine of consolation from them.
Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process that supplies the muscle, nerve, sinew, and bone is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life.
Our souls are not nourished merely by listening for a while to this and then to that and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning all require inward digesting, and the inward digesting of the truth lies mainly in slowly and intentionally meditating upon it.
Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, attend Bible Studies, and are busy serving in ministry, make only shallow advances in the Christian life? Could it be because they do not thoughtfully and unhurriedly meditate on God's Word?
“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.” Isaiah 55:2
We need to defend our quiet time and luxuriate in the pleasures of dining on the Slow Food of the Word. We ought to deliberately savor the things of God, because that is how we get the real nutrition and deep satisfaction out of them.
“The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine.” Isaiah 25:6
Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: in order to have wine from it, we must bruise it, press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser's feet must come down joyfully on the bunches or else the juice will not flow. The grapes must be properly tread or much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth if we desire the wine of consolation from them.
Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process that supplies the muscle, nerve, sinew, and bone is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life.
Our souls are not nourished merely by listening for a while to this and then to that and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning all require inward digesting, and the inward digesting of the truth lies mainly in slowly and intentionally meditating upon it.
Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, attend Bible Studies, and are busy serving in ministry, make only shallow advances in the Christian life? Could it be because they do not thoughtfully and unhurriedly meditate on God's Word?
Prayer: |
Lord God, deliver me from such frenzy and folly. Instead, help me to be nourished by your hearty and fruitful Word. Show me how to embrace the treasure of freedom so that I can learn how to live a life that reflects quiet time in Your Word.
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Song/Hymn: |
Taste and See That the Lord is Good “Oh Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever…”
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