Spiritual appetite (3)
2021-10-18Psalm 119:143 NLT
God blesses us with skilled doctors who know how to diagnose illnesses and prescribe medication that bring health and healing. But what about when it’s our souls that need healing? In those times, we should to turn to God to nourish us and bring the restoration we need. The psalmist wrote: ‘As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands. Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live…Those who love your instructions have great peace’ (vv. 143-144, 165 NLT).
When there’s a chemical imbalance in our bodies, it might need to be treated with medication, an altered diet, or a lifestyle change. But when our souls are starved to the point of breaking, they need to be treated with God’s Word. We’re not talking about skimming through a few verses and rushing off into the day. Butterflies cover a lot of ground, but only bees gather honey. Sometimes we have to stay with a particular Scripture until we extract the ‘honey’; to live with and meditate on it till it takes root and starts to grow within us (see Psalm 119:48).
It takes time to change ingrained character traits. God may work on one area of our lives for several weeks, or even months. He won’t give up on us. New habits and ways of thinking need time to be established. We must recognise this and allow God to reveal and reinforce new truths. Just because we’ve read a certain scriptural truth doesn’t mean it will produce instant change. It must be applied every day, and that takes time and meditation.