The Christian's spiritual soul food

Jeremiah 15:16 "Your words were found and I ate them,And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts."

Introduction:

Before it was all said and done, Jeremiah would end up having the longest prophetic ministry of any prophet in the Bible. For over 50 years he warned the people of Jerusalem and Judah to mend their ways and get right with God. The King in Jerusalem and the court officials accused Jeremiah of treason and the people accused him of treachery. Jeremiah's situation was anything but comfortable. It was painful and he needed nourishment for his soul. How was it that Jeremiah was able to find comfort for his soul? In God's Word. Today's post briefly unpacks how God's word is the believer's true soul food. 

The Bible is the only true "soul food" for the believer

Truly it could be said that the Bible is the only soul food on the planet. Unlike any other book or any other food, the words of the Bible feed the soul and soothe the heart. Whenever Jeremiah speaks of "eating God's words", he is referring to meditating or thinking upon them. Jeremiah's comfort in life derived not from courting popularity - for there was none to be found. Neither did Jeremiah find comfort in his circumstances - since the nation he loved would be conquered and carried away into exile in Babylon. 

Overtime Jeremiah learned that his only sustenance in the spiritual famine of life were the words of God. Elsewhere other Biblical characters speak about this life-giving quality of the words of God being true food for the soul. Job for example refers to God's Word as being more precious than his "daily food" (Job 23:12). David expresses his hunger for God's word in Psalm 119:103 "How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" In the New Testament we find Peter saying to Jesus in response to a question raised by Jesus in John 6:67-69 "So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

As Christians, we need to daily take in the scripture to avoid spiritual malnutrition

Too often Christians attempt to carry on their daily Christian walk without taking the time to spend time in their Bibles. The late Dr. Adrian Rogers once said: "These two things has God ordained together that no man can part; dust on the Bible yields drought in the heart". We so often fill our souls with spiritual junk food, only to find ourselves unnecessarily weak and defenseless. Reading and meditating on the scripture requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit. In our flesh we are inclined to lean upon our own understanding rather than the words of God (see Romans 8:4-8). When we find ourselves not desiring God's word, that is when we need to ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle that desire.  The Spirit's main work entails making clear the contents of scripture (see 1 Corinthians 2:10-13). 

Whenever you and I neglect scripture, we will find ourselves neglecting other spiritual responsibilities. Soon, we will find ourselves going through the motions. We may look good for a period of time to most people while not even realizing that we are spiritually starved. This writer speaks not from anecdote but from personal experience. How much one takes in the scripture will determine how much godly living they live out in life. 

Closing thoughts

Only when we give ourselves regularly to the scriptures and meditate upon them will we then have power to fight the good fight of faith (see Ephesians 6:10-18; Hebrews 4:12). Moreover, by the scriptures is our faith quickened and our focus on Jesus rekindled as we walk out in obedience to the Lord (Romans 10:17; 12:1-2; Hebrews 12:1-2). May you and I take the time to read, meditate and apply the scriptures daily - the true "soul food" of the Christian. 

Your source of strength in difficult times

Hebrews 4:11 "Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience." 

In order to get our attention, God will often times cut off the ungodly things or relationships that we have mistakenly come to view as sources of comfort. Such Fatherly discipline by God is designed to teach the believer that He alone is the believer's source of strength. Additionally, the process of God's discipline communicates that His word, as well as godly counsel and the people of God are resources he provides for Godly living, strength and comfort. 

As God speaks words of judgment to Egypt, Philistia and Moab through Jeremiah, He is judging nations that had at first plagued Judah throughout her history. As one reads the Old Testament's portrayal of the history of God's people, they eventually came to view these former enemies as spiritual and political allies in times of desperation. God's prediction of defeat on these nations served to remove any confidence that the Jewish people had in anyone of these nations. 

So why would God do this? So as to provide space for Jeremiah's message of comfort to Jerusalem and her inhabitants that God alone was her Savior. Though God would be disciplining His people, their destiny would entail restoration after it was all over. (Jeremiah 46:27-28) 

In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews 4 urges us to fix our eyes on the Lord and keep them there. As we think about the outcomes of God's people in the Old Testament, Christians today need to ask: where or in whom is found ultimate spiritual, emotional and physical refreshment? Is it in this world or in the Lord? Does the Creator and Savior bring us our greatest thrill or do we have more confidence in created things? Do you and I rely upon the opinions of men to put band aids on our heart or do we rely upon God's word which alone can cut, wound and heal the heart, making it anew? Only at the throne of grace in Jesus Christ can we find unending comfort and strength.

It's always better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man

Psalm 118:8 "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."

The opening passage of today's post is appropriately the middle verse of our English Bibles. The Bible is unquestionably God centered. Wherever you turn in the books of the Bible, you will find verse after verse depiciting either man's ultimate need as being God in Jesus Christ or the glorious revelation of this God. Take the prophecy of Jeremiah for example. In Jeremiah 40-42 we see what happened to the people of Judah who were left behind following the exile of the majority of Jewish people into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. 

Jeremiah the prophet was left to live among the poorer people spared by Nebuchadnezzar to remain behind in and around Jerusalem. Not everyone was happy to be remaining and much fear was brewing among the remnant of Jews as to whether they would be taken to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had assigned a governor by the name of Gedeliah to watch over the people. To compound the already jittery climate of fear, Gedeliah was assassinated by a wicked man named Ishmael who was part of an intricate plot conceived by the Ammonites, a pagan people who dwelled in the land. Ishmael's wickedness was demonstrated when in killing a bunch of men he had them thrown into an old, dried up well in the city. 

Mankind is no better than a well full of dead corpses when attempting to preserve himself in the face of judgment . Jeremiah the prophet comes along and warns the people and the leaders among them not to fear, but to dwell in the land around Jerusalem, for God is willing to grant favor and sustain them. Jeremiah warns those who have it in them to flee to Egypt to not go, lest they suffer by the hand of the king of Babylon from whom they are trying to escape. 

Despite the prophet Jeremiah's warnings, certain leadership convinces the people that they have no other choice but to flee to Egypt. They choose to trust in man rather than God. Jeremiah and others are forced to go with them, showing that God has a remnant whom He uses to bear witness and call others to repentance. 

When we briefly turn to the New Testament, the book of Hebrews urges the reader to look to the excellency and supremacy of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 2 we see the first of five warnings in the book issued to those who claim to know Jesus with their lips but do not possess the necessary saving faith in their hearts. Anyone who refuses to heed God's voice does so because it was in them to do so as a result of their willful choice. (Acts 13:46; Hebrews 2:3) Anyone who turns and believes on the Lord does so because of God's grace working in the person whom He has given to run into the arms of Jesus. (John 10:27-29; Hebrews 2:13) The writer then details all that God did in the sending of His Son, and how Christ alone provides salvation and the grace necessary to fight and overcome temptation. 

So in this brief look at two books of the Bible, what can we glean? It is always better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.