How to Develop a Healthy Appetite for God’s Word

Use the pressures of your life to increase your appetite for the Word of God. That’s what you find consistently in the Psalms:

“As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul longs for you, O God.” Why? “My tears have been my food day and night.” Psalm 42:1, 3

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” Why? “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in His dwelling.” Psalm 27:4-5

“As for me it is good to be near God.” Why? “My feet had almost slipped… My heart was grieved, my spirit embittered… til I entered the sanctuary of God.” Psalm 73:28, 2, 21, 17

If everything in our lives was apple pie, we might not feel this hunger and thirst for God. But the truth is, we are facing great pressures. Our own sins are many. Therefore, we’re hungry and thirsty for God. That’s how to use the pressures of your life, whatever they are.

Sometimes the pastor will say at the beginning of a service, “Lord, help us shut out the pressures of our life in this world.” That’s impossible. You can’t detach yourself from the realities of life. Come to God with all the pressures of your life, and use them to increase your appetite for the Word of God.

Are you trying to detach yourself from the realities of life, or are you using the pressures of your life to increase your appetite for the Word of God?