The Joy of God’s Words

Scripture — Jeremiah 15:16 (NRSV)

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.

Devotion

In 2002, I attended the Christian Booksellers Association convention in Anaheim, California. The vast exhibit hall was filled with vendors promoting their new books, including one of mine. But booksellers filled only half of the hall. The other half was packed with vendors who sold the other products that once filled Christian bookstores.

I was fascinated by the mind-blowing abundance of what people call “Jesus junk.” Some of it was what you’d expect, such as posters, t-shirts, hats, and mugs featuring beloved Bible verses. But there were items in that conventional hall that I had never imagined, such as larger-than-life carved wooden statues of figures from the Bible. One of my favorite surprises was the wide variety of candy with Bible verses printed on it. (This was one of my favorites because the vendors were generous with free samples.)

At that CBA convention in 2002, I literally ate God’s words. Doing so reminded me of a passage from Jeremiah, in which the prophet said, “Your words were found, and I ate them” (Jer 15:16). Now I’m pretty sure Jeremiah wasn’t thinking of biblical candies when he spoke of eating God’s words. Rather, he used this metaphor to imply that God’s words appeared in his mouth as he prophesied. Moreover, Jeremiah didn’t just spit them out, so to speak. He didn’t only proclaim them to others. Rather, he also “ate” God’s words for himself. We might say he internalized them. He took them to heart.

What was the result of Jeremiah’s consumption of God’s words? We find an answer to this question in the rest of verse 16: “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.” The words of God, which conveyed the truth of God, caused Jeremiah to rejoice. They became the “delight” of his “heart.” Inspiring this delight was the truth that Jeremiah was “called” by God’s “name.”

Have you ever experienced something like this, when the words of God filled your heart with joy? I remember times in my life when, suddenly, something I had read in Scripture became alive to me. At times, this happened with a passage I had read many times before. Though I might have known this passage in one way, at some point, the Holy Spirit opened my heart to a new understanding accompanied by joy.

This experience of Word and Spirit can happen in a variety of contexts, including corporate worship, listening to a sermon, studying the Bible alone or with others, and so forth. But I find that I am particularly ready to experience the joy and delight of God’s words through quiet, creative, prayerful reflection on Scripture.

One way this happens for me is through what is traditionally called lectio divina, Latin for “divine reading.” This is a structured process of reading, reflecting upon, and praying the Bible. Lectio divina is different from the way I ordinarily read and study the Bible in that I am less focused on the details of biblical exegesis (language, grammar, history, genre, etc.) and more attentive to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in Scripture. In a sense, I am “eating” God’s words, taking them inside of me so that they might nourish my spirit. As this happens, I sometimes feel the joy of the Lord in a distinctive and transformative way.

I am committed to the faithful, scholarly study of Scripture. This activity is essential if we are going to know and interpret Scripture accurately. But one can study the Bible from an intellectual point of view without engaging its truth more personally. So, I believe we should use our eyes to see everything we can in the Bible. But, to borrow from Jeremiah, we should also use our “mouths” to “eat” God’s words, savoring them, internalizing them, meditating upon them, and delighting in them. As we do, our hearts will be open to receive, not only God’s truth, but also God’s joy.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Faith in God’s Provision (Jeremiah 8-16).