Day 22 - 40 Days of JOY
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of JOY
Day 22 | GOD’S WORDS AND JOY
40 Days of JOY
Day 22 | GOD’S WORDS AND JOY
GOD’S WORDS AND JOY
Jeremiah 15:16
“Your words are what sustain me; they are food to my hungry soul. They bring joy to my sorrowing heart and delight me. How proud I am to bear your name, O Lord.” (LB)
Did you eat yesterday? I’ll guess you did. Why? Didn’t you eat the day before? And of course… you did then too.
The point is that we people do typically eat EVERY day to stay healthy and sustained. Our bodies take the food we eat and convert it into energy which keeps us going. Stop eating, and eventually, we stop living. Of course, we enjoy and delight in eating (sometimes too much so)!
The prophet Jeremiah was paralleling the experience of eating food physically, with the “food” that God’s words provided for him… “Your words are what sustain me; they are food for my hungry soul.” But then he also adds that God’s words bring JOY and DELIGHT to him.
You may never have considered God’s Word in those terms, but JOY through the Word of God is available to YOU and me too!
Sometimes the Old Testament is puzzling for Christians. But I like teaching that although the Old Testament was not written TO us, it was written FOR us.
Similarly, Paul said: “The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16, LB)
Our God wants us – His children – to be healthy and have enough to eat, and spiritual food – that is, His Word – is a part of that plan!
Prayer: LORD, help me to remember daily how important your Word is to my JOY, my health, and my soul. Amen.
Jeremiah 15:16
“Your words are what sustain me; they are food to my hungry soul. They bring joy to my sorrowing heart and delight me. How proud I am to bear your name, O Lord.” (LB)
Did you eat yesterday? I’ll guess you did. Why? Didn’t you eat the day before? And of course… you did then too.
The point is that we people do typically eat EVERY day to stay healthy and sustained. Our bodies take the food we eat and convert it into energy which keeps us going. Stop eating, and eventually, we stop living. Of course, we enjoy and delight in eating (sometimes too much so)!
The prophet Jeremiah was paralleling the experience of eating food physically, with the “food” that God’s words provided for him… “Your words are what sustain me; they are food for my hungry soul.” But then he also adds that God’s words bring JOY and DELIGHT to him.
You may never have considered God’s Word in those terms, but JOY through the Word of God is available to YOU and me too!
Sometimes the Old Testament is puzzling for Christians. But I like teaching that although the Old Testament was not written TO us, it was written FOR us.
Similarly, Paul said: “The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16, LB)
Our God wants us – His children – to be healthy and have enough to eat, and spiritual food – that is, His Word – is a part of that plan!
Prayer: LORD, help me to remember daily how important your Word is to my JOY, my health, and my soul. Amen.