More Necessary than Food

UV 1324/10,000 More Necessary than Food

Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Job 23 v 12
The Lord spoke the entire universe into existence by His word. There is such awesome power in His word. Realizing this we should not ever depart from the words of His lips. We need to value His Word more than our physical food. It is the spiritual equivalent of our food. It is food for the soul and spirit. It is provided freely and abundantly in the Word. When we apply the Word in our lives, we are consuming it. When we recount the Word in our minds, we are chewing it. When we feel the pleasure of His promises, we are smacking our lips at the very delight and thought of His word. When we do the will of God according to His Word, we are digesting it and appropriating all the nutrients in His Word. When we store it in our memories, we are making deposits as a reserve of strength and nutrition for the future. The Word is more necessary than food, more delightful than delicacies, more wholesome than milk and meat. It gave Job the patience, inner strength and endurance to face many disasters and afflictions. It sustained his will to live. It revived his faith and hope. It kept his relationship with God going at the worst times in his life. It helped him recover and prosper again. The Word has resurrection power and healing power in it.

We need to value the Word more than fine gold and delight in it more than the sweetest honey. The Word is both our roadmap and our compass. By ingesting the Word, we grow in strength and maturity. We will increase in knowledge, wisdom, understanding and ability. By ingesting the Word, we will come out as refined gold when we face the fiery trials of life. Our faith will be refined and purified.

The Word is our secret food. It is the secret of our success and fulfilment in life. Jesus told his disciples who wondered if He had obtained food from somewhere on one of His teaching trips, “ I have meat that you know not of.” He went on to add, “ My meat is to do the will of the One who sent me.” When we follow the paths indicated in His Word, we are doing His will. The promises of God are the spiritual milk by which we grow in faith. The commands of God are the more substantive food that constitutes our balanced diet. Obeying the commands of God is the strongest food- the meat. The meat provides the spiritual equivalent of protein- the building blocks of our life. If we do not do what the Word asks us to do, the same Word becomes our stumbling blocks by which we are judged. Without the Word, we would have been finished. With the Word, we are finished.

Prateep V Philip