Feasting on God's word or gluttony ?

 I have been reading my bible lately every day. Just like I used to. But like a starving man or a thirsty one, I would devour it by chapter after chapter. But I stopped and realized, I was not getting very much out of it. It was like eating a large slice of chocolate cake quickly without taking time to actually taste it. The bible was so good to my parched soul that I was being a glutton and not taking time to savor it and to ponder what I was reading. Now I try to ask God to speak to me through the word and tell me what I am supposed to hear. Sometimes I will read a few verses, and sometimes I will read up to three or more chapters.It just depends on what I need. I am beginning to know when I have reached where my destination is for that day in the bible.  The Spirit nudges me and lets me know when I have reached that nugget of wisdom for today or this moment. I had been devouring chapter after chapter but with reading so quickly and so much, I was losing track of what I had read. I was not "tasting" the meat of the word. I know it goes into the mind to be brought up later when needed but when we need guidance, we need to slow down and think on what we are being given. 

   Case in point, I have been considering going back to work. It seems we are spending more than we ought to trying to fix the things in the house. My husband has always said that he has the pension and if things got tighter then  I ought to be the one to get a job. So far we have managed quite well. (He really does not want me going back to work.He only brings it up when he is frustrated.)But we had a cushion in the bank which is diminishing. My health is not great physically. I was working and it took a great toll on me. When we moved, it was in the hopes we can make it on his pension.  This is what I have been struggling with. I have laid it out before God and twice now I have been given the same message about God meeting our needs and not to worry about what to eat or wear and what tomorrow brings. Both times this message has come from a snippet on the verse for today on www.biblegateway.com . I opened up the chapter each time to read the verse in context and found my answer for now. Two separate messages telling me to trust God to meet our needs. So for now He is telling me not to take on a full time job. 

  God's word is meant to be savored and to be studied. It is not a race to read through the bible so many times a year to show what a good christian I am. It is a book of life lessons and most of all the pathway to God. When we read the word, we begin to understand(hear) it because we are being called to God's salvation. Once we are saved, it becomes our handbook so to speak on all of life's issues. We learn of how God works and most importantly it speaks to us of His will. Sometimes God speaks to us in that still small voice in our heart. But many times we get the answer through the reading and pondering of the bible. 

   2nd Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof , for correction, for instruction in righteousness," . It is so much more, it comforts us when we are down, it encourages us when we feel like we have failed, it praises God and helps us to do the same. It has the answers to our questions.

   I have been wanting to write about this for several days now and have not had the quiet time enough to get it into words. I felt God leading me to do this. I am setting up my laptop in my sanctuary for times I need to read and pray. I have a small bedroom just for myself  that I have my sewing table and machines, plus my daybed and big reading chair. When I need to be alone, this is where I go.

   We all need that quiet time and place. It might be early in the morning like I do or late at night. It can be anywhere you can get time to pray and to read or listen to God's word. Just remember to pray before you read and seek what you need for today. Our daily bread is not just the food we eat, but the food for the soul, the word which sustains us and makes us grow as Christians. 

   So take time to feast on the word of God. Pray before reading and seek out what the Lord is trying to give you. Take time to study what you are reading and think on it as how it applies to your life. It does not always take a huge amount at a time to give you your need. But it does take thinking on what you have been led to study and to ask for wisdom and understanding. It should not be how many chapters a day you read, it should be how much you are getting out of what you have read. You will know  once you have reached your pearl of wisdom. It will stand out in your mind. Take it and ponder it. Pray over it and thank the Lord for sending it to you.