Sweeter Than Honey: Enjoying God in His WordSample

Enjoy God

When I used to read my Bible, I made it all about myself. I had no plan. I just sat down and randomly opened to any page, hoping to land on an encouraging verse. I had never been taught a better way, never experienced the joy of discovering God through his Word.

But when I was in college, I developed an eating disorder, and in my desperation for healing, I found Jesus. I began studying the Bible to know and love God more and discovered that only God can satisfy the canyon of longing in my heart and that true joy is only found in relationship with him. Instead of opening to random pages, I started reading full books of the Bible and developing an understanding of the big redemption story.

When I started really studying the Word—even on the days I didn’t feel like it—I discovered that the more I taste Jesus, the more the rest of the world loses its flavor. As I saw Jesus Christ across the entire story of Scripture, grasping the immensity of what he did for me on the cross, how undeserving I was of his mercy and grace, and the abundant love he lavished on me, I started to enjoy and even crave God’s Word.

Too often we expect that delighting in God’s Word should come naturally. We wonder if there’s something wrong with us when we don’t long to open the Scriptures as much as we long to check social media. Rather than the cheap delight of fast-food french fries, God’s Word offers us daily bread, meals to satisfy and strengthen us, and honey that lingers in our hearts.

We’re all hungry for something or someone to delight in, to savor, to enjoy, because we were made to delight in, savor, and enjoy Jesus forever. Every other person or thing eventually disappoints, but Jesus offers us joy in him no matter our circumstances. Christ came full of grace and truth (John 1:14). He came with splendor and majesty, strength and beauty, wisdom and power. The more you gaze upon him in the Word, the more you will be filled with praise and joy.

Enjoying God begins with picking up your spiritual fork and dining at the table of his Word. So if you want to develop joy in God’s Word, don’t skip the hard parts. Instead, work hard to understand them. Pray for the Holy Spirit to develop your spiritual taste buds so you no longer crave the candy of this world but instead are satisfied by the honey of his Word. When you come to the Word to know God, you’ll discover the unshakable joy of relationship with your Savior.