Job 23:12 – I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. (NIV)

During the colder months of the year, the minute our goats hear me outside in the morning, they begin crying out very loudly for their hay ration. Mmmmaaaaaaaaa echoes round and round the dark barnyard until their breakfast hits their food bins and the stillness of dawn is again restored.

I laugh to myself when these little rascals start their bleating for their food. They are Nigerian Dwarf X Pygmy goats, but there is definitely nothing small about their vocal demands for food.

Likewise, I wonder, does my heart cry out as loudly and demandingly for God's Word, my spiritual food? Do I hunger after His righteousness as much as my little goats do for their breakfast? Do you? Or have I, have you, become complacent about hungering for the Word of God, due to the fact that we have the freedom to read or hear it almost any time we want via the television or Internet? Have I, have we, simply learned to take it for granted, believing that we shall always have access to it? These are questions that I found myself needing to examine within my heart.

As a young Christian, I remember sitting for long stretches, just devouring God's Word. I had purchased a Living Bible at the encouragement of our pastor, and I was simply fascinated as I read this very readable translation. When was the last time, however, that I found myself doing that? It's not that I don't read the Word, and I'm sure that you do, too. The question is, do I still hunger and thirst after it? Does my heart cry out daily for its refreshment, truth, and guidance? I must admit that perhaps, all too often, the answer is no.

Why is this, I asked myself? What has changed, and how do I change it back to the way it was? The number one reason which came to my mind is the fact that I have been reading it for so long that I often feel that it's just the same old, same old. I know these truths. Yet, perhaps this is my mistake, for God's truth is so much deeper than my limited human understanding. Thus, how can I really ever come to the end of it?

John W. Ritenbaugh writes: "God's Word is so infinite and pure that it is always valid, always true, always applicable, and always an inexhaustible source of guidance. Jesus says that God's 'word is truth' (John 17:17)."

Now, as I hear those hungry little goats crying aloud for their food each morning, my prayer has become:

Prayer: Lord, move my heart afresh this day to hunger and thirst after Your Word, my spiritual food, that like Your servant, Job, I may treasure the words of Your mouth more even than my daily bread. In Christ's name, I ask. Amen.

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About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada
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