God’s Word Feeds and Sustains Our Faith
Wednesday’s Verse:
From Jeremiah 15:16 ESV
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.”
As we’ve been studying in Bible class on Thursdays, Jeremiah is known as “the weeping prophet,” and throughout this chapter of Scripture he laments over being rejected by God’s people and going into exile in a foreign land. In verse 15, however, he cries out one of the happiest statements about God’s Word that we will find anywhere in Scripture. He doesn’t say, “I heard your words, LORD” or “I memorized your words, LORD,” but, “I ate them!”
In Scripture, to eat something is to ingest it fully, not just taste it. To eat it means to allow it to become a part of who you are and where you draw your strength.
God’s Word is more than information; it is the living food that both creates and sustains our faith. Notice also that Jeremiah says, “Your words were found.” In context, these words speak of discovery, as when Huldah and Josiah discovered the Book of the Law in the temple (2 Kings 22). The Word always comes to us from outside ourselves. It is not something we manufacture. It comes to us, and we embrace it with faith. And when we do that, God’s Word becomes “a joy and the delight of the heart.”
Look at the sequence: first it is found, then it is eaten, then it becomes joy. Joy is not something we will ourselves to feel when reading God’s Word. Instead, joy is the result of allowing ourselves to be fed by God. Jeremiah could face difficulty with joy because his strength and hope came from the Lord, who called him by His name. To say, “I am called by your name” is to say I belong to the Lord; I am stamped with His ownership mark.
As we suffer for Jesus’ sake, we too can experience this joy because our names are written in heaven. Our identity is secured in Christ. But God’s Word does not simply tell us that we belong to Him; it makes it so! By His Spirit, God’s Word feeds and sustains our faith even in the midst of trouble.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Almighty God, thank You that You call us by Your name and make us Your very own. Fill us with hunger for Your Word, that we might receive it, treasure it, and let it become the joy and delight of our hearts. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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