Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. – 1 Peter 2:1-3
Yesterday we started talking about habits we need to develop when it comes to diving into God’s Word so that we can grow stronger in our relationship with Him. We kicked things off by talking about the importance of developing a heart for God’s Word. Let’s take a look now at two more habits we need to develop as well.
First, we must desire a hunger for God’s Word. od wants to feed you a good spiritual square meal every day of your life, but as we all know, no matter how good the meal is, how well cooked the vegetables are, or how well-grilled the steak is, if you aren’t hungry, you won’t eat it. There is nothing wrong with the food in the Bible. It is literally a buffet of blessings. The problem is there is something wrong with our appetite.
We need to quit living off mental and spiritual junk food, which is all you are going to get from television, the internet, and social media. Those things will leave you hungry no matter how much you eat and drink from them. The only thing that will satisfy what your soul is hungry for is the Word of God.
Second, we must devote a hearing for God’s Word. The real reason why so many people have no appetite for the Word of God is that they have no appetite for the God of the Word. If you will taste and see that the Lord is good, you will love God. When you really begin to love God, it sets off a chain reaction. When you love God, you will love the Word of God.
But to do that, you must devote time to reading His Word and listening for Him to speak to you through His Word. It requires you to seek Him out so that you can get spiritually fed. He’s not going to force-feed you. It’s up to you to open your Bible and carve out time to spend with your Heavenly Father so He can fill you up with all that you are hungering and searching for.
Dear Lord, I want to have a hunger for your Word. I want to hear from you through your Word. I pray that you would instill in me a deep desire and longing to know you better by reading your Word. Help me to be diligent in carving out time to read Scripture and commit it to memory so that I might grow in my relationship with you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: Approaching God