I read recently about the importance of eating slowly.  Here’s a quote: “Most Americans eat too fast, and, as a result, they take in too many calories before they realize they’ve eaten enough. It takes approximately 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your brain to send out signals of fullness.” (source)  Wow!  20 minutes?!?  I finish my plate in 20 seconds!  I’ve always eaten fast, and it’s hard to remember to slow down.

This revelation has other implications to my life which came up in my prayer time today.  I’m working through Psalm 37 and was on verses 7-13 today.  This section begins, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him”, and as I continued certain words were jumping off the page: “be still”, “wait patiently”, “fret not”, “refrain”, “turn from”.  The Lord was reminding me –again– that I need to slow down and just be with Him.

Many times I treat my spiritual life like I do meal time – I wolf if down and move on.  Read Bible – Check!  Pray – Check!  Listen to see of God has something to say – Check!  “Ok Lord, I gave you 5 minutes to say something, now it’s time to get back to work!”

Jesus reminded me this morning that He said “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4).  He followed that up with, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)  What that means to me today is that I need to take the same advice I’ve been given for meals, and apply it to His Word.  So, that’s my advice for you today.

We need to chew longer.  The article says, “Not only does eating slowly and mindfully help you eat less, it enhances the pleasure of the dining experience…. Take a bite, eat it slowly, savor it, and do nothing but enjoy the flavor, texture, and experience….”   We need to do that with the scripture.  Instead of ploughing through 5 chapters at a time, take a small bite of a word or phrase and chew on it for a while.  Savor it.  Taste it.  Explore the texture, meaning and what the Spirit is saying to you.  Swallow and sense what God is doing as it gets under your skin.  Let it digest through your system and spread it’s life-giving essence to every part of your life.