The Milk Of The Word

1 Peter 2:2 – As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. (KJV)

When I first brought my infant son home from the hospital, I was delighted that he was relatively easy to care for. I'd heard horror stories of ceaseless crying, sleepless nights, and endless feedings. My son loved to sleep — and sleep — and sleep. I knew that newborns sleep a lot, and I thought my little boy was doing fine. I soon learned, however, that his sleeping was partly in response to poor feedings. He didn't nurse for very long. His lack of nutrients made him tired, and his tiredness made him uninterested in feeding. It was a frightening downward spiral that could have had devastating results.

Thankfully, medical professionals alerted me to the problem, and I immediately took action. I would faithfully awaken John every three hours and get him to take some milk. At first it was very difficult to awaken him, and he would take very little milk. I practically had to force-feed him. Drop by drop, he fed at first, until he regained his desire to nurse heartily. Slowly he gained weight, the folds in his flesh plumped out, and his yellowish pallor faded to a rosy pink.

This caused me to think of times when I lost my appetite for the Word of God. I wouldn't "feed" for a while and found myself lethargic to the things of the Spirit. But by "force-feeding" myself, consistently reading my Bible even when I didn't feel like it, my appetite returned. My spirit was no longer tired and sickly.

Probably all believers have occasions when we are tempted to skip devotional or Bible reading time. When we do, it often gets harder and harder to get back to the Word. Perhaps a little "force-feeding" — just a few verses to start with — will once again whet our appetites for the Word.

Prayer: Lord, please make us hungry for You. Amen.

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