“…man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” –Deuteronomy 8:3
At Expansion, the church I pastor, we are learning about the power of God’s word and our need for it in our lives in a series called, FUELED.
We are learning that the only way to walk in the Spirit is to be fueled by God’s word. People often say: “You are what you eat” or “Food is fuel”. This is true for our natural health and energy. But it is even more true for our spiritual life. If our natural body needs physical food, then our spirit needs spiritual food. And that food is the word. In other words, food is important to our biological life and God’s word is vital to our spiritual life. If we as believers are to walk in the Spirit rather than in the flesh, then we need a spiritual diet to fuel our walk with God in the Spirit.
The only way to live a victorious Spirit-led life is to be fueled by God’s Word.
God’s word, every single word He has spoken, is life to us. It is His grace, His power, His heart flowing to us. And as we let God’s word do the work in us, the supernatural nutrients of God’s word transform us: freedom, healing, blessing, godliness, love, strength, confidence, and so on. Our spirit is strengthened, and we walk in the victory more and more.
If God’s word is this powerful and our spirit needs God’s word this much, then how do we consume God’s word, how do we eat it like we eat food? Our mouth is the gateway to our stomach; this is how we get nutrients into our body. Our eyes and ears are the gateway to our heart, to receive spiritual nutrients. And just like we don’t eat the same thing every day, so I have found that being creative with my time with God and introducing a variety of habits helps me stay engaged with the bible and allows the many benefits of the Kingdom into my life.
As a starting place, we often say there are 5 ways to eat God’s word. Each of these can be developed into creative habits. Just like a marriage needs spicing up, so our relationship with God needs to be revitalized regularly. You may find 1 or 2 of these habits more effective for you, however, I challenge you to look for ways to implement each habit into your day, week, or year.
Here are 5 ways to eat God’s word:
- Reading the bible
- Listening to preaching
- Memorizing the bible word for word
- Studying the bible
- Meditating on the bible
READING THE BIBLE
My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes;Keep them in the midst of your heart. -Proverbs 4:20-21
Reading the simplest, fastest way to eat the bible. You can read a verse, a chapter, or many chapters daily (our church follows the Jesus Disciple reading plan). Just like we need to eat at least once a day (and most of us eat throughout the day), so reading the bible is the perfect habit to maintain a steady diet in the word. Reading the bible keeps the word in front of us at all times, allowing the truth to enter our eyes and ears and get deep into our hearts. It positions us for a daily encounter and conversation with God and becomes the primary fuel for our walk with God.
“Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes,that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel. – Deuteronomy 17:18-20
In the Torah, God commanded kings to write the bible down with their own hand (now there’s a creative idea!) and read it every day. Since we are redeemed kings and priests, sons and daughters of God, this practical wisdom is readily applicable to us. Look at why reading daily is so beneficial: the person learns to fear God, increases in humility, grows in obedience to God, and receives personal and generational blessing. The word is truth, reality, sobriety. As we keep God’s word in front of us, we are reminded regularly who God is, who we are, and how to live. There is a direct correlation between a person who remains in the word and who walks in victory as a Christian. And the opposite is true, the less a Christian is in the word, the more prone they are to deception, sinful temptations, and pride.
LISTENING TO PREACHING
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? …. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – Romans 10:14, 17
Listening to the preaching of the Gospel is a primary way the bible encourages us to eat the word of God. It allows God’s word to enter our heart through our ears. Listening to preaching can unlock our heart to hear God clearly, give us fresh revelation, impart grace to us we do not have, build our maturity and faith in areas we are lacking, help us receive correction we need, and so much more.
Personally, it helps me to receive from God through others. Every Spirit-led believer has a grace from God to give to others. Other believers have grace I need. Since I want all of the fullness of God, I feed on the grace from other believers. Often when I need something from God in a particular area of my life, I will turn to someone in whom I have seen that particular fruit and listen to them. Whether I need encouragement, wisdom, restoration, or maturity I will listen to their messages or seek their counsel through coaching. Though I often receive and hear from God personally, I need the fellowship and the preaching of God’s word to add to me things I don’t have.
There are many ways to listen to God’s word and allow preaching to build us up. Encouraging each other during a group bible study, talking with our children at dinner about the word (from a message or our bible reading), watching message on YouTube, attending a church or conference, dialoging with a Christian friend, pastor, counselor, or coach. Check out these verses later: Hebrews 3:13 and Deuteronomy 6:6-9.
MEMORIZING THE BIBLE WORD FOR WORD
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. — Psalm 119:11
There is no scripture that specifically says, “memorize the bible”, but there are tons of scriptures that tell us to hide God’s word in our heart. Just like a soldier learns their weapon and tactical operations by muscle memory so that during a battle they don’t have to waste time processing, so we need God’s word ready, in our heart, and on our lips, so we can win every battle. By committing the bible word for word to memory we are hiding the word in our heart. The promise is clear: victory over sin. Jesus is the perfect example of this. When He was tempted in the wilderness, He quoted the bible word for word three times. He didn’t speak His mind, He spoke the word. And he won that battle.
It is important God’s word saturates our heart. I encourage you to memorize the bible “word for word” because it is vital we stand on God’s word and not our general recollection or even our interpretation of the word.
STUDYING THE BIBLE
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15
Studying is how we dig deep, how we mature in our faith, and grow our own understanding. Studying God’s word is vital to knowing what the bible actually says rather than being susceptible to everyone else’s opinion. Though I appreciate and need good bible preaching, I always studying the word myself. I am convinced every believer can and should to study the bible and I enjoy coaching people to do this. This is what Paul is referring to when he says we are to diligently and rightly “divide the word”. To divide the word doesn’t mean to cut it with scissors, but to study and apply it to our lives.
For me studying God’s word is fun. I love digging deep into a book of the bible or tracing a biblical truth from Genesis to revelation. I love how the stories connect, how Jesus is revealed, how the puzzle pieces of the mystery of God all fit together. Studying is how I “own” my faith, how the bible comes alive. It is where I can get creative. It is how I ensure what I believe and teach is aligned with the word and not human tradition. Often when God wants to really teach me and change me in a deep way, He guides me into a study so that the word gets worked deep into my heart and takes root. I know He wants to do the same for you.
Finding tools to study the bible is easy and free. I often use and recommend Blue Letter Bible. It gives you access to word studies, bible dictionaries, commentaries, and more. There are also many personal and group bible studies you can purchase that guide you through a study. Whether you study on your own or with others, I encourage you to find time throughout the year and find a topic or book you can dig deeper into.
MEDITATE THE BIBLE
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.–Joshua 1:8
Meditating on the scriptures is, in my opinion, the most transformative habit. I’ve been asked by people who are already seeking the Lord and eating God’s word how to “speed up” their own breakthrough. Meditation is the key because it causes you to speak God’s word out of your own mouth. We become the preacher sowing the word into your own heart. We see ourselves obeying God’s word and this shapes our actions. The more we respond to God’s word with faith, in thankfulness and surrender, the more the word takes root and bears fruit.
Biblical meditation is not silence or humming, it is not pondering random ideas. Biblical meditation is when we use our own mouth to speak God’s word out loud. That is why Joshua was told to keep the word in hismouth, meditating in it. The Hebrew word for meditation in this verse literally means to “chew the cud”. It is a word picture of cattle chewing, swallowing, chewing more, swallowing, and so on.
Though I love reading, studying, and listening to the bible I probably spend more time meditating in it through my day. I meditate God’s word by preaching it to myself, personalizing what it says to my own life. I meditate by responding to God’s word. For example, if it’s a promise I say, “Thank you”. If it is a command I say, “Yes, Lord.” If He is correcting me, I repent. If He is encouraging me, I receive. I worship, sing, and pray with the word. I declare it over my life. I cry out to God to help me, teach me, change me. I ask Him for more revelation. God’s word fuels my conversation with God.
When we saturate our heart with God’s word,
God’s blessings will saturate our lives.
@PastorDavidTurner
I encourage you to come up with creative ways to consume the word. Make a plan for a healthy, balanced, biblical diet. Ensure daily, weekly, and yearly you have rhythms of taking God’s word into your eyes and ears so that it goes deep into your heart and shapes the way you think, talk, and live. Ultimately, the reason for consuming the bible is so we can live the bible. When we saturate our hearts with God’s word, then God’s blessings will saturate our lives.
*All scriptures are quoted from the New King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise stated. Emphasizes are mine.
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Pastor David Turner 