By Jackie Ricks
It seems people are always hungry for something — food, money, love, sex, free time, friends, etc. But how many times are we hungry for God’s Word and fellowship with Him?
If you’d never tried chocolate (or some other food that you now enjoy), you’d never be hungry for it because you wouldn’t know it was so good. But once you tried it, you became hungry for it. One of my grandsons is like that about brisket or meatloaf. He didn’t want to try them the first time, but now he begs for them all the time.
The same is true about God’s Word. If we don’t spend time in His Word, then we don’t know how good it is and how much we want it.
Mary of Bethany understood that. She had possibly helped serve Jesus on His previous visits to Martha’s house where Mary lived. During that time, she must have heard His teaching and wanted to hear more. That’s probably how she came to sit at the Savior’s feet when He came to visit her, her sister and their brother, Lazarus in Bethany (Luke 10:38-42). She couldn’t pull herself away long enough to help Martha serve the guests because she was so enthralled with His message. Even Jesus Himself said that Mary had chosen the “good part” (listening to Him) that day.
We need to learn to listen to what the Bible says so we may be closer to God. As a result of listening to Him, our actions also help draw us closer to Him. Mary put her faith and love into action in John 12:1-8. No one told Mary to anoint Jesus’ feet. Some even tried to prevent it and criticized her for doing it. However, the Lord said it was preparation for the end of His life. She didn’t know that, obviously, but she followed God’s leading. The closer we are to God, the more we are aware of what He wants us to do.
Are we hungry for God’s Word? Do we really want Him to be involved in every aspect of our lives?
I’m afraid some of us want Him there only part of the time because we aren’t doing what we should and we’re afraid He will reprimand us. Or maybe we’re afraid God might ask us to do something we don’t want to do. None of this should matter because the only thing that will bring us true joy is being in God’s will. Reading and studying God’s Word daily is the only way to stay in His will. That’s time well spent with God.
Do you have a favorite passage or story in the Bible? Check it out and really study it. You may find something you hadn’t noticed before. God may also send you a message with an answer to something you’ve been praying about or a direction of something He wants you to do. Try reading the Scripture in more than one version and using a commentary to help understand something new about the passage. Stay in the Word daily.
Scriptures — Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-8
Respond — If you don’t already have a Bible app that contains a concordance, several Scripture versions (including original language versions), commentary and other helps, find one like Bible Hub or Logos. Both are free but may also have purchase options available within the app itself. If you aren’t tech savvy (and you don’t have to be much to use either of those), then at least invest in a thorough concordance or other helps. There are also many good commentaries, but it can get expensive to purchase books so you may want to check out the library. Your church may even have some as well.
Prayer — “Lord, help me use my time wisely so that I may study Your Word and spend time with You. Show me what You want me to do, then give me the strength to do it. Draw me closer to You, Lord, and help me stay close to You every day. Thank You for guiding and directing me in Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“O God, You are my God; I shall seek you earnestly; my soul thirsts for You…” (Psalm 63:1 NASB).
— These articles are shared via the National WMA web page blog that can be accessed at nationalwma.org/blogs.
