Developing Our Spiritual Tastebuds

A few years ago, it was reported by a major news agency that a woman in London must have had a strong chocolate craving, because she stopped at a Woolworth’s store and asked for every Mars bar in stock. She paid cash for over ten thousand candy bars. Nobody bothered to ask why she wanted so many, but one person jokingly said, “Perhaps she had a sweet tooth.”

The Psalmist had a “sweet tooth” as well — for something far more healthy than any chocolate Mars bar. He loved the Word of God (Psalm 119:97) and found it “sweeter than honey” to his taste (Psalm 119:103).

Let’s ask ourselves, “How can we develop our spiritual tastebuds so that we too can have a strong craving for the sweetness of God’s Word?”

Let’s implement the following simple suggestions:

1) Read the Word — It may seem obvious, but we have to open and read the Word if we’re going to learn to love it as the Psalmist did. Let’s set aside a few minutes each day and read a passage — then think about the words, their meaning and context (cf. Nehemiah 8:5-8).

2) Reflect on the Word — Jot down a verse on a sticky pad and look at it often during the day (cf. Deuteronomy 6:6-9). Then follow the Psalmist’s example and make it our “meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).

3) Apply the Word — Let’s ask God what He wants us to understand and how to apply it to our life each day (cf. Ephesians 5:15-17; Hebrews 5:12-14).

If we will but read, reflect, and make application of God’s word, it will satisfy all our spiritual “sweet tooth” needs (Acts 17:11; 2 Peter 1:2-3).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets