Nourishment for our Souls, Part II

My youngest daughter and I had a great talk awhile ago. She shared with me that sometimes she doesn't feel fed when she reads her Bible. We've all experienced that at one time or another - the discouragement of coming to the Bible, being hungry and needy, and nothing doth seem to satisfy. Nothing speaks. Right?

I encouraged her that as believers our job is to come to the table and eat. Just like she comes to the dinner table to eat the food her mother has prepared for her, she is to come and sit at the banqueting table that God has prepared for her in His Word. Her job is to eat. To shovel it in, scoop it up, partake. As her mother I provide her with a variety of nourishing and delicious foods at the table and expect her to sit down and eat, fork it in, chew it and swallow it down. God has an even more bountiful banqueting table full of good spiritual eats to nourish and satisfy the soul. So we are to come, come, come to His table, and He promises to feed us and provide our souls with the richest of fare. We come. He feeds. Our responsibility is to come to the table and delve in with knife and fork and with eager abandon. His responsibility is to feed us and provide us with the sustenance for our very life. The table is set. Come and eat.

We all know the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible. (Lk. 10:38-42) Martha was busy and distracted, Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. Martha is the spiritual nibbler and Mary is the gourmand. Martha is dashing around doing busy deeds, and I can visualize her sticking her head in the doorway of the room where Mary sat at Jesus' feet. She'd listen for a brief moment and catch a good spiritual tidbit, a little nibble to momentarily dim her spiritual hungers, and off she'd go again. Mary on the other hand sat. She came to rest, settled in. She scooted herself right up to the bountiful banqueting table and ingested solid spiritual food.

How would we characterize ourselves? Are we the Christian nibbler ever on a strict diet of low calorie spiritual eats? Or are we the Christian gourmand who settles in for a fine feast? Feeding our souls on the richest of fares takes time and effort and energy and commitment. It is not the work of a moment in passing.

The only soul satisfying arm-around-you comfort in this life comes from the precious Words of our sweet God and Savior. He has communicated truth to us - words of life. His Word is truth. It applies. It matters. It speaks. It works. It suits each and every ache and pain and weariness and agony and speaks life directly into our souls.

Devotion - a steadfast looking to Him to hear the words of life. We have our 'devotions', but are we devoted to knowing Him? Loving Him? Then come, come, come and eat. Why spend your labor on what does not satisfy and your money on what is not bread?