READ: PSALM 119:97-104; JEREMIAH 15:15-17; MATTHEW 4:4

What is your favorite food? Think about how good it feels to eat that food, especially when you’re hungry! Now, listen to what the prophet Jeremiah says: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty” (Jeremiah 15:16). Have you ever wanted to eat the Bible? Probably not. But Jeremiah did! In this verse, Jeremiah probably didn’t literally eat God’s words, but he used this metaphor to express how God’s words sustained him and filled him with joy, especially at a time when he was worn out from trying to speak God’s truth to people who continually oppressed and mocked him.

Have you ever been hungry for God’s Word like that? Has reading the Bible ever filled you with joy and delight? Psalm 119:103 says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” The Bible is so good, we should want to consume it like a good meal.

Just as we need to eat food every day to give our bodies the strength and energy we need, “eating the Bible” is vital to our spiritual life. That doesn’t necessarily mean we have to read it constantly or think about it every minute of the day. But it does mean we read it regularly so the Holy Spirit can use what the Bible says to transform us from the inside out.

Much like eating food sustains us, hearing about Jesus’s love and promises in His Word gives us the strength we need for each day. When we’re reminded of how Jesus suffered and died to save us from sin, and then rose from the grave to give us new life, it helps us give our burdens to Him and trust Him to lead us. And as we meditate on His love for us, and for the world, it fuels us to extend His love to others through what we say and what we do. • A. W. Smith

• Can you think of a time when something in the Bible encouraged and sustained you? What was that like?

• It can be tempting to read or listen to a devotional (like Unlocked) and count that as our regular Bible reading time. But the truth is that devotionals, helpful as they are, can’t sustain us. Wise words from other Christians can’t sustain us. Only God’s Word can sustain us, and nothing can replace it. If you struggle to spend regular time in the Bible, why not start with the “Read” passages from each day’s Unlocked devotion? If you’re already doing this, great! Consider starting another Bible reading plan to do alongside your devotional, either by yourself or with other Christians.

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Psalm 119:97 (NIV)