“Here. Taste this and see how good it is!”

You may be waiting for me to hand you an ice cream cone or a delicious piece of homemade cake, but what I really want to hand you is God’s Holy Word. For years I longed to find what was missing in my life. I longed for something, but I couldn’t grasp hold of what was lacking. As it turned out, I needed to open my Bible, day by day, and eat from God’s word. His word was waiting to nourish me. Book pages? Nourishment? Not just any book pages— God’s word. If we were to compare it to cake (just for fun of course), this would be that homemade eight-layer cake that takes time and love to bake. The one you can’t wait to cut into and savor. I digress…

In my early twenties, I found myself hungry. I read my Bible from time to time, attended church regularly, and attended Bible studies. But never had I devoured scripture as nourishment. It seemed hard and didn’t always make sense. It felt complicated. Even overwhelming at times. I didn’t know where to begin or even where to end my day’s reading. What I can attest to now is, that if you open those pages, day after day, God will guide and help you understand.

When we open His word, we are opening an opportunity for God to nourish our souls.

He is ready to fill us, guide us, give us wisdom, and direction.

Hope and joy await! The question is, will we accept the invitation to come, “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8)?

When we develop a daily practice of ingesting God’s word, we find the fullness we are searching for in the wrong places. Others cannot do this for us and there are no satisfying substitutes. Think about your favorite meal. It’s sitting at the table in front of you. You can see it and smell it, and then, someone else takes the fork and eats from your plate. They tell you how wonderful the meat is, how tender and satisfying. You see them devour the beautiful cake that was made for you, bite by bite. As they enjoy the goodness, you watch and wonder. You see how good the food is, but you are not tasting it for yourself. While it becomes fuel for their body, you are left empty and undernourished.

Our souls crave what we were created for~ deep relationship with God. Relationships require communication and communication takes time. Time that is used to speak and listen. The Bible is filled with God’s inspired words, active and alive (Hebrews 4:12), ready to answer the questions that circle around in our heads. When we wrestle with doubts and fears, we have a safe place to take our questions. Answers await. His promises are written and ready to delight our hearts. We can trust God to meet us in His word, with a listening ear.

When we open His word, we are creating time to communicate with our Creator. 

He knows our every thought but invites us to share them with Him just the same.

His promises are recorded so that we may know them and trust Him to keep them all.

When the question, “Am I blessed?,” crept it’s way into my mind, I knew where to take it and Who would meet me and satisfy my every longing. As we share our deepest thoughts and questions with God, He offers us refuge from the Enemy’s lies.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalm 34:8 ESV

While the enemy wanted me to believe that God had forgotten all my prayers the day my son was killed, I knew in my core that He had not forgotten. I knew that in the presence of God was the safest place my son could reside. God gave that truth to me several months before as I studied the scriptures on my sunny back patio while preparing for a conference. But in my grief, Satan saw an opportunity, and he was prepared to wreck my faith. Thankfully, I was alert to his ways. God’s word had taught me to be alert. In my most desperate hour of need, I sought shelter, and yes nourishment, from God’s word. I took my question to Him in prayer and opened my Bible to find truth.

When we open His word, we find truth. 

Truth, that prepares us for battle, ushers in peace, and reminds us we are not forgotten.

In His word, we are armed and ready to stand against the lies of the Enemy.

In His word, we find refuge.

By His word, we are nourished.

By His word, we are blessed.

Studying the Bible is important to help you know and trust God more. It equips you with His power, presence, perspective and peace. It informs your emotions, increases courage, decreases doubt, and bolsters believing. ~ Gwen Smith

We started our journey with questions. Those questions led us to seek His word. We are praying for you that as you continue to journey with us, devouring His word for yourself, verse by verse.

It is such a blessing to walk this journey with you~ Jodie

Further Study:

1. The world will offer us opinions, half-truths, and outright falsities. When given an opportunity, the world’s words will fill us, but ultimately leave us longing. What question are you wrestling with? Write it down. As you study God’s word, ask for His answer, wisdom, and guidance. Keep notes on the ways His word gives you answers.
2. We started our journey in Psalm 32, reading it each day for one week. Grab your bible, some blank paper and a pen. Write the words of this Psalm one verse at a time (you have the weekend to complete this). Read the verses aloud, underlining and circling anything that stands out to you. Do you feel God is giving you a certain direction through this passage? What truth can you remember and cling to from these verses?
3. Commit to remember a verse of the bible this coming week. Allow that verse to nourish you anytime you feel empty, worried, or anxious.

You can download a printable version of today’s devotion here >>>Blessed Devo Five- Jodie Barrett