Are You Hungry? Feed on the Word of God
BY RICK WARREN — OCTOBER 14, 2014
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.” (Colossians 3:16a NIV)
Just like you need physical food for physical strength, you need spiritual food for spiritual strength. The Bible describes itself as spiritual food — the water, milk, bread, and meat of our spiritual lives. It’s everything you need for sustenance.
If you were a construction contractor, you wouldn’t consider sending out a guy who hadn’t eaten anything in two weeks. If you were a commander in the Army, you wouldn’t send a person into battle who hadn’t eaten in a month. Right? We need to feed ourselves to have the strength to accomplish the tasks ahead of us.
You’re not going to have much success in winning the spiritual battles you face if you’re starving yourself to death. That’s why we need to feed on the Word of God.
Unlike eating physical food, whenever I feed on God’s Word, I get even hungrier. The more I taste and see how good God is, the more I want.
The Bible says in Colossians 3:16, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly” (NIV). Paul is telling us to let the Bible take up residence in our lives in a rich, profound, and life-giving way.
So how do we feed ourselves on the Word of God and allow that to happen?
- Receive the Word with your ears. Commit yourself to go to church and listen to God’s Word being preached.
- Read the Word with your eyes. Having a Bible in your house is not going to bless your life. You have to have the Bible in your heart.
- Research the Word with your hands and mouth. When studying the Word of God, keep a pencil in your hand. Write down what God teaches. Talk with other believers in a small-group environment about what you’re discovering.
- Reflect on the Word with your mind. Think about and chew on God’s Word.
- Remember the Word with your heart. You’ll rarely have a Bible with you when you need it. Commit God’s Word to memory.
Talk It Over
- What changes do you need to make in your life so that you are spiritually nourished?
- Do you write down what God teaches you? What you are memorizing from Scripture?
- What spiritual battle are you fighting today? Have you turned to God’s Word for sustenance?
| Get Your Joy Back |
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| TODAY’S SCRIPTURE |
| “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” |
| (1 Peter 1:8, NIV) |
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| TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria |
If the circumstances of life have taken away your joy, today is the day to get it back. You weren’t meant to live this life feeling drained, depressed and down. God wants you to be excited about your future and learn to enjoy each and every day.
If you don’t make the conscious effort to keep your joy, year after year you’ll get more and more solemn. Not only will the enemy rob you of the joy that belongs to you, but he’ll rob your family and friends of the gift that you have to give them. When you have joy, you can use that joy to influence the people around you for good. Joy is strength, and when you have joy, you can offer strength to the people God has placed in your life.
Today, draw the line in the sand and say, “That’s it. I’m not going to live another day negative, discouraged, sour and grumpy. I’m going to put a smile on my face. I’m going to live my life happy.” Choose to hold on to joy which is your strength so you can offer strength to people everywhere you go.
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| A PRAYER FOR TODAY |
| Father in heaven, thank You for Your love. Thank You for choosing me and molding me into Your image. Today, I invite You to fill me with Your inexpressible, glorious joy so that I can be a blessing to the people You have placed in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen. |
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