Eat This!

I’ve finally learned the reality of something I have actually been practicing most of my Christian life — daily feeding on the Word of God. If I were to state the one thing that has made the most difference in my life and ministry that would be it. I attribute everything good in my life to continuous study of the God’s Word — daily.

I believe this daily practice has enabled me to stay fresh and productive in my Christian walk over the years. Even recently, as I have begun to aggressively pursue a deeper relationship with the Lord, I have seen how this practice equips me for my daily journey.

I can easily convey this fact to others, but it will take a lifetime to experience the fulness of its truth. I relate spending time in God’s Word to another activity we must do each day, and in fact, one we enjoy. That is, eating food. Daily spiritual food is no less necessary than daily physical food.

However, I see a misnomer among believers that intrigues me — even puzzles me. Their approach to the Word of God is different. They want someone to give them the answers to life in a way that does not require constant daily feeding. They want a once-for-all formula that will complete their spiritual growth in a moment. Instead of daily food, they want a one-time dose that will fix it all. They want one dose, not a continuous nutritional supplement.

That would be like saying, “Eat this!” and it would supply all your nutritional needs for a lifetime. Instead of all the fuss and mess of daily preparing meals to supply your needs, you would just take one single pill and you would never have to eat again.

Physically, that would be complete nonsense to suggest that we could eat one thing and never have to eat again. Yet, we seem to seek that as an answer to our spiritual lives. We think once we have heard or read about something we should never have to review it again.

When Jesus was traveling through Samaria he met a woman who was drawing water at a well. She had this same mistaken attitude about life. Offended that Jesus would ask her for a drink of water, Jesus replied, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Notice the woman’s response to what Jesus offered her. She said, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Can you imagine anyone who would think that one cup of water would last a lifetime? However, the effort of drawing the water was her chief concern. She simply didn’t want to have to come to the well each day to get her daily supply. She wanted the life that the water gave, but did not want the work involved in obtaining a daily supply of it.

In my spiritual life I have discovered the benefits far outweigh the effort. I have disciplined myself to daily study of the Word and I obtain what I need for each day. Everything I have eaten before has been expended in living my life and I need more bread for more strength. The harder I work the more I must eat. I would never think of working all day without drinking or eating. I would become faint and weary. There is a refreshing available in consuming your daily bread.

Spiritual growth requires us to daily feed upon the Word of God. As we grow, we sit under teachers and preachers helping us to learn the principles of the Christian life. When we come to the place where we have disciplined ourselves to fix and eat our own bread, we expand into the ministry of feeding others. As I sit at the table each morning feeding upon the Word of God, I now not only prepare food for myself, but also to share with others around me.

So now, this daily supply also becomes a supply for others. All the while, as I am doing this, I am teaching others to draw from the well of salvation themselves — setting the example and equipping my own self at the same time.

Success in the Christian life is not so much major events and miracles. It is more about taking care of our spiritual health on a daily basis. Living the Christian life is about the effort required each day to build our spiritual muscles. We must quit thinking about one-time events that will catapult us forward and instead focus on the small things we can do each day to grow and become mature. Then as maturity sets in, our focus will turn to how we can help others grow.

Seated deeply within my daily walk is the understanding that I must renew, revive, and refresh every aspect of my faith through God’s Word. If not, then as the Apostle Paul said, “Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1st Corinthians 9:27, KJV)

Calvary Assemblies of God | 720 N Plum St Union City IN 47390 | Pastor Brian P. Jenkins |  (765) 964-3671 | www.calvaryassembliesofgod.org