I'm a big believer in eating at least three meals a day. If you're going to fudge on that number at all, in my opinion, it ought only be to eat more, not less often. What say you?
I like a breakfast with protein and fiber, a lunch that is warm and re-energizing, and a supper that is comforting and satisfying. That's right. I said supper. I'm from the South where supper is the final testament to a day well spent, hard earned, and much appreciated.
If it takes three meals and the occasional snack to satisfy our bellies each day, why do we try to limit our daily consumption of the Bread of Life to just one paltry appetizer called a daily devotional reading or maybe a night cap deemed vespers? Shouldn't we take the time to prepare for ourselves three hearty meals of holy food just as we cook up three well balanced plates for our tummies?
Now I'm a Bible student and I love sitting down for an hour or so to dig in to the Word of God through an inductive study of the Word. But that's akin to sitting down to Thanksgiving Dinner every day and skipping breakfast and supper because you're planning to fill your plate twice with the holiday fare. So while I'm still for rightly dividing a hearty helping of Bible during a daily study time, I'v found I still need to eat a substantial breakfast and evening meal to round off my daily portion of Truth. And by "eating" healthy meals I mean those times I actually eat the Word of God through meditation on it rather than the times I just cut it up and examine it through study. Do you see how there's a difference? And the good news is, I can afford to "eat" three square meals of Truth because it's all calorie-free!
So here's my proposal. Prepare yourself a menu of soul satisfying scriptures, ones that fill and quench your current soul desires. I do that by finding scriptures that particularly resonate with me, writing them on 4x6 index cards and putting them in a small photo book. Then I take the time THREE TIMES A DAY to read through them, meditating on them -- chewing on them, tasting them, and swallowing them -- and digesting them. I find there is no better way to feed my hungry soul than to feast on God's Truth at least three times each day. Except maybe when I manage to fit in a fourth, enjoying a hearty snack to get me through a particularly difficult afternoon or long morning.
I invite you to try this method of eating God's Word. And see if you don't end up (after giving it a good, long try of at least three weeks) saying with me,
"Your Words were found and I ate them.
Your Words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart!"
(Jeremiah 15:16)
Labels: meditation, memorization, What's in Your Pack
