Come to the table to Feast!

Posture yourself to sit with the Lord in the Word.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien puts an emphasis on hospitality and the enjoyment of food in Middle-earth by everyone’s favorite hairy-footed halflings. Resembling traditional English meal times, the hobbits of Middle-earth feast up to seven meals a day. [Breakfast – 7 a.m., Second Breakfast – 9 a.m., Elevenses – 11 a.m., Luncheon – 1 p.m., Afternoon Tea – 3 p.m., Dinner – 6 p.m. and Supper – 9 p.m.]

We were meant to feast upon the word of God as nourishment for our heart, mind and soul. We can come to God, with open mouths to lavishly eat to our fill again and again.

We indulge in this feast – not to know more, or be more. But to know God and to be with Him.

He will do the transformation of the heart. We can be confident “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

There are many references of tasting and eating the word of God.

• Psalm 119:103: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
• 1 Peter 2:2-3: Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
• John 6:35: Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
• 1 Timothy 4:6: . . . nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
• Matthew 4:4: Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

“We approach the Scriptures as children expecting to be fed by our Father. It can be easy to sit down with our Bibles and think something like, OK, let me figure out some application from the passage I’m ready today. I have good news for you – we are not spiritual orphans. We have a gracious heavenly Father who feeds us to the full with His Word; He gives abundantly. As we read the Word, we do our part being open to what God will teach us. We posture ourselves to obey and to be gratefully fed by the Living God through His Word and by the power of His Spirit. But God is in charge of feeding us.”¹

Consider feasting upon the word of God. Approach the table with a posture of hunger and delightful expectation!

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8.

Be nourished by the word of the Lord today. Engage with a passage and sit with the Lord. Linger. Savor the sweetness, truth, goodness, & righteousness. Taste the spices. Inhale the aroma of Christ. Drink deeply from the living water. Reflect upon the richness of God’s words to you, and meet Him there in this place.

How is God revealing Himself to you? Is He reaffirming something in your soul or showing you something new?

Stay here for a moment and feast upon His words to you. Be with Him. Savor each morsel and capture any new insights or affirmations in your notes or journal.

¹ McLelland, Kristi. Jesus & Women: In the First Century and Now. Lifeway Press: Nashville, TN, 2019.