Developing An Appetite For God's Word

Many of us in the church have had the opportunity to go to Haiti and be a part of the work that God is doing there through Pastor Leon. There are many pictures that have been lodged in my mind as a result of those visits. One in particular is of the little children who have such frail bodies and bloated stomachs due to malnutrition. The per capita income for Haiti is between $400 and $1300 depending on which web site you are looking at. In the best case, that is about $4 per day - about what I pay for a good hamburger.

As I talk with believers I find that many (if not most) of those who are faithfully in church are actually malnourished as far as their spiritual nutrition goes. Many people go from Sunday to Sunday without having a good spiritual meal - and yet they either think they are healthy or don't care that they have no appetite for the Word of God.

What do we do about this? Whenever I find that my appetite for the Word of God is not as it should be, I head to Psalm 119. Listen to the Psalmist as he pours out his heart to God to develop within him a hunger for God's Word:

v18 - "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."

v36 - "Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain"

v37 - "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your Word."

v59 - "I have considered my ways and have turned my steps tp your statutes."

v133 - "Direct my footsteps according to your Word; let no sin rule over me."

These are just a few of the choice verses in this great chapter of the Bible. If you are not hungering for God as you would like to then perhaps this chapter would be great place to start to re-develop an insatiable appetite for God and His Word.

Grace and Peace,

Shay