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Job 23:12 – I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. (NIV)
During the colder months of the year, the minute our goats hear me outside in the morning, they begin crying out very loudly for their hay ration. Mmmmaaaaaaaaa echoes round and round the dark barnyard until their breakfast hits their food bins and the stillness of dawn is again restored.
I laugh to myself when these little rascals start their bleating for their food. They are Nigerian Dwarf X Pygmy goats, but there is definitely nothing small about their vocal demands for food.
Likewise, I wonder, does my heart cry out as loudly and demandingly for God's Word, my spiritual food? Do I hunger after His righteousness as much as my little goats do for their breakfast? Do you? Or have I, have you, become complacent about hungering for the Word of God, due to the fact that we have the freedom to read or hear it almost any time we want via the television or Internet? Have I, have we, simply learned to take it for granted, believing that we shall always have access to it? These are questions that I found myself needing to examine within my heart.
As a young Christian, I remember sitting for long stretches, just devouring God's Word. I had purchased a Living Bible at the encouragement of our pastor, and I was simply fascinated as I read this very readable translation. When was the last time, however, that I found myself doing that? It's not that I don't read the Word, and I'm sure that you do, too. The question is, do I still hunger and thirst after it? Does my heart cry out daily for its refreshment, truth, and guidance? I must admit that perhaps, all too often, the answer is no.
Why is this, I asked myself? What has changed, and how do I change it back to the way it was? The number one reason which came to my mind is the fact that I have been reading it for so long that I often feel that it's just the same old, same old. I know these truths. Yet, perhaps this is my mistake, for God's truth is so much deeper than my limited human understanding. Thus, how can I really ever come to the end of it?
John W. Ritenbaugh writes: "God's Word is so infinite and pure that it is always valid, always true, always applicable, and always an inexhaustible source of guidance. Jesus says that God's 'word is truth' (John 17:17)."
Now, as I hear those hungry little goats crying aloud for their food each morning, my prayer has become:
Prayer: Lord, move my heart afresh this day to hunger and thirst after Your Word, my spiritual food, that like Your servant, Job, I may treasure the words of Your mouth more even than my daily bread. In Christ's name, I ask. Amen.
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Sunday, September 8, 2024 – In Central British Columbia — Pray for the Cariboo House Churches in British Columbia as the people gather from across the Cariboo region to celebrate 35 years of mission outreach. Pray for a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to empower people to reach out in their own communities.
terminal illness: "Update September 5, 2024: Gisele had the biopsy done yesterday but will not get the results for..." 
Beautiful!
Well said, Lynne! Blessings.
Greetings.
Thank you.
Another good one my friend!
God bless.
It’s great to read your posts again, Lynne! God bless!
Another good one, Lynne! Thank you and God’s blessings always.
This is a wake up call. Thank you for all your daily readings over the years.
Lynne, God has used your words today to lead me back to HIS WORD. Thank you so much!
Beautifully written, and deeply appreciated wisdom within!
Thanks!
WELL, Lynne, the message in today’s devotional surely did hit home!
Thank you.
Psalms 34:8a Taste and see that the LORD is good. Your devotional is delicious!!! Amen.
Thank you, Lynne, for this encouraging devotional. I’ve been a believer since I was very young, so I can identify with your situation.
Beautiful and so true, Lynne. It is so easy to take the breathed word of God for granted. Thanks for sharing about goats and man!
I think that you have found a viable solution to keeping resolutions we have made. We need a trigger, something that will immediately remind us.
Oh Lynne, I think your little goats must be such fun and what a great reminder you have given us to remember to “eat” our spiritual food daily. Thanks.
Hunger for the comfort found especially in the words of Jesus and later His apostles in the New Testament – much of the Old Testament is about anger and violence – not good.
Good morning, Lynne,
What a beautiful and timely reflection. Sounds like your goats are wonderful companions.
Thank you, Lynne, for this very good reminder. I certainly identify with this message and welcome the shaking up I needed to seek God more fervently! May God Bless you in a special way today!
Hello Lynne, Once again your ability to use your day-to-day activities to inspire a deeper reflection on our relationship with God has helped. May He answer your request and mine as I pray for a refresh and renewal in my desire and hunger for the Lord.
Greetings Lynne and many thanks for another of your very meaningful devotionals. You have done a great comparison of your goats crying out for their morning food and how important it is for us to have a burning desire for our spiritual food. Delving into the Lord’s word and following His direction certainly gives us a fulfilling feeling of His loving care.
Blessings for these very special writings you prepare and share with us.
Good morning, Lynne,
I very much enjoyed your message. I knew it was you from “goats” in the title. But the important word in your title is “hungry”. I definitely have not been hungry for His Word in the last while as I have been at other times in my life. Definitely, when something is new and exciting, it grabs my interest more. I find that when a devotional is expressing something in a different and unique way to how I think, I am drawn to His Word more. Also if I am going through a difficult time, I am drawn to His Word more. Definitely it should not be that way and I should pray for help with this “hunger”.
Thanks for the refreshing way of looking at my faith.
So true! you hit the nail on the head. At 75yrs with an MA in Religious Studies Theology degree, I do not find myself spending long sessions hungering over and devouring scripture as when I was young.
Perhaps to everything there is a season. The season I’m in now seems more focused on relationships – loving God in prayer and loving other people.
If I am honest, I know something which has turned me from spending so much time in the Bible and that is I am sick of the American styled evangelical right literal approach to scripture, now also in Canada, and I am determined not to go there, but it has in fact turned me away from scripture itself.
So thank you Lynne for calling me back to know that the Bible has much more in store for us who read with more than literal eyes.
Lynne Your devotional reminds of the baby robins I watched last summer who were loudly demanding, “Papa, feed me!”. These little ones looked to their Provider to satisfy them. We, on the other hand, so easily depend on ourselves or others rather than on our Heavenly Father to feed us. Today I’m praying the words from a hymn by William Williams)
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more,
feed me till I want no more.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us! Just read it and found much food for thought there. Blessings.
Wading through 2 Kings at the moment (Scripture Union Guide”Encounter with God”) it’s hard to find the uplift I need at the start of the day! But it’s showing me many Asherah poles and altars to Baal in my life!!!
Thanks for your encouragement.
Morning Lynne, growing up on the dairy farm my farther always said the animals can teach us a lot! I do enjoy how you relate to them, in the same old same old phrase. I just heard a pastor state nobody ever really knows the whole Bible. As we experience life each time we read the Bible, there will be a verse that pops out at you with a completely different meaning than how you have been reading it. Keep up your great work. It is much appreciated by this one guy back here in Ontario.
Thank you for your devotional. Your story seems very similar to mine. Your piece was a wake-up call and for the last couple of days I have been saying to myself “Lord, make me like a goat.” In other words restore my hunger for the Word. Thank you for sharing.