Day 12 - Milk and Solid Food

“I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready...”.

1 Corinthians 3v2

When we were babies, we needed our mother’s milk to feed and sustain us. As we grew, we could take more solid food. We learnt to feed ourselves. We may never have been that great at preparing and cooking a meal but at least we should be able to obtain and prepare our most basic dietary needs without help.

The same occurs with our spiritual diets. When we first came to faith, we focussed on our need for repentance, receiving God’s love, inviting Jesus into our hearts and accepting His salvation. But if we stay with this diet alone, we will never comprehend the full height, depth, length and breadth of God’s love.

Bible study is rarely easy. Once we get beyond the well-known passages, we get to the tough and lumpy bits that need a lot of effort to cut up, chew and digest.

Struggling with understanding a passage often requires us to pray for the Holy Spirit to give us insight. Sometimes it is helpful to read what others have already discovered. But relying on this alone may mean we miss out on the real joy in receiving a particular insight that God has prepared especially for you.

Some parts of God’s Word defy digestion for years and we have to leave them on the sides of our plates for a later time. However, situations, such as illness, bereavement or financial or emotion struggles may unlock a particular morsel that may help us discover and understand a deeper aspect of God’s love and these more precious gems may also become part of our spiritual lives. If we have laid up God’s Word in our hearts, then the Holy Spirit can bring these precious words to mind at these times of need.

“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”

Ephesians 6v10-12 (v13-17)

God’s words are also spiritual weapons which both defend our faith and allow us to wrestle against spiritual forces. Unless we are able to acquire and wield these weapons, we will be vulnerable when (not if!) we come under spiritual attack.

We may never understand all of scripture but our efforts are always rewarded by the discoveries that we make along the way. These gems protect our faith and allow us to stand firmly against the wiles of the enemy in a time of battle.

So, reading and studying God’s Word is a lifelong adventure, a source of both blessing and spiritual empowerment. However, Bible study is a bit like going to the gym. It is not having the gym membership and good intentions that makes us healthy, fit and strong. We have to go there and actually use the equipment to get the real benefit!

Steve Horton