HOW DOES IT TASTE?
I’m not much for brussels sprouts. My mother never made me eat them so I guess it’s her fault, right? But seriously, they are way too bitter for my taste. Every time I try to down a couple of these greenish tidbits, I nearly gag…even though I know they are good for me.
There are times God’s Word can seem bitter as well. We know the truth is good but avoid it because of how uncomfortable it is to our flesh. The Bible talks about that very thing. Is it really possible for convicting truths to become tasty in our mouths? Let’s look at a few verses that address the taste of truth.
Read Psalm 34:8
1. What is the command of the psalmist in this verse?
Read Psalm 119:103
2. How do words from God taste in the psalmist’s mouth?
Read Psalm 19:7-11 noting the various terms for God’s Word. Pay special attention to verses 10-11
3. To what natural things is the Word compared here? What results from knowing God’s words in verse 11?
Read Proverbs 27:7
4. What is required for bitter things to taste sweet?
Read Proverbs 24:14
5. God is wisdom. What does this verse say about wisdom and its rewards?
Even if it’s bitter to the flesh, truth can be sweet to the spirit…if we are hungry enough to seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. What do these verses say to you personally?
Please share your thoughts in the comments section so we can learn from each other.
Sorry to be so late in commenting. We took our granddaughter to Tampa FL last weekend for a Campus Outreach project for the summer. I’ve been trying to catch up since I got back. Just realized I hadn’t done this study yet, so hopefully better late than never.
What I take from this is that we have to be hungry for the Word in order to really appreciate it. We can read the Word because we feel it is required and for the most part, it won’t be sweet to us because it is from the wrong motives. I am convinced that everything in our Christian walk must be for right motives for it to work for us.
When I read it because “I need to get my Bible reading done for today.” I’m just putting in time. It’s a good discipline, but I’m not really growing in Him. When I read it with “I’m hungry to know what God has to say to me today.” or “What can I learn about God and His ways from this portion of scripture?” Then, it will be sweet to me and I will grow in my relationship with Him.
Not sure that’s where you were going with this study, but that was where it took me. :-)
God bless and thank you.
Peg
Thank you, Peggy. That’s exactly where I was going. Loved your practical comments. You are right on about hungering after the Word with right motiives.
I find so much truth in Psalm 19:7-11. SO many times (including the present), I have found myself to grow lazy in/neglect my spiritual life. And it doesn’t take long before I begin to feel it’s effects…things start to feel “out of place”; I find myself worrying about all kinds of things; I find myself having more mood swings, less patience, a general negative attitude. And when I realize I need to get back to my basics of spending time with God EVERY SINGLE DAY, the total refreshing and sense of peace that almost immediately rests on me, is just as these scriptures say: “it pulls our lives together…it points out the right road…shows the way to joy…easy on the eyes…like strawberries in the spring.” I can honestly say it’s that kind of refreshing I feel when I know I spent quality time with Him. That “need to worry” lifts and I feel REST and assurance. Just this very weekend our sermon at church was exactly that: when christians start to complain that they feel bored, stagnant, just going thru the motions. And he challenged us that it’s most likely because WE’RE not spending the time time we should be with Him and in the Word. I was very much convicted because I’ve let myself get “busy” and have only been doing these weekly lessons and nothing else. And I’ve felt that lapse in my relationship with Him…that sense of total “God’s-got-this” peace was missing. God once showed me that in envisioning a perfect spinning tornado-like shape…the sharpest point imaginable that then spins out in every direction…that’s what our relationship with Him should look like. HE is that sharpest starting point, and everything else comes out from that. When we keep Him FIRST in everything…the very starting center point of our lives…everything else spins off of that, if that makes sense. I always like to envision that funnel to remind myself where my priorities should be. I guess that conviction I received at church goes hand-in-hand with Proverb 27:7…”to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.” I like Proverb 24:13 in The Message: “Eat honey, dear child – it’s good for you.”