February 02: Food in His Word

Word: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105)

Many people, of course, give greater importance to physical needs, because they are the ones we can recognize more easily. However there are spiritual needs that are as or more important than the physical ones and that we sometimes forget to satisfy.

In chapter 8 of the book of Nehemiah, the Israelites who returned from exile in Babylon, despite not suffering among them, from hunger or disease, felt their spirit empty, recognizing themselves away from the ways of God. Because of this, Master Nehemiah organized a Bible seminar where Ezra was the teacher.

Ezra read from the book of the law of Moses from dawn until noon, to feed the people with the truth of God (Nehemiah 8: 3), and they all listened attentively. Such was the experience, that his appetite for the Word of God was awakened, to the extent that the authorities, priests and Levites, arranged to meet with Ezra the next day to study the law and to understand it better. (Nehemiah 8:13)

When we recognize our spiritual needs and find that on the basis of them we find ourselves weak, we can, like the Israelites, find the food that restores us in the Word of God. As the scriptures dictate: "As newborn babies, desire unadulterated spiritual milk, so that through it you may grow to salvation" (1 Peter 2: 2). Ask the Lord to renew your desire to have fellowship with Him, and begin to nourish your heart, soul and mind in His Word.

Prayer:

Lord, give me the wisdom to recognize when my spirit is weakened, so that I can return to Your word and find in it the peace and joy that my soul needs. If I turn from your ways, grant me the discernment to return to Him, knowing that only with You can I walk with joy and strength. Amen.