Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and a delight to my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
Jeremiah 15:16
Remember jeans? Do you want to remember jeans? Depending on how your eating patterns have gone in these days of difficulty, jeans might be something you revisit in the future.
In many countries food producers are reporting desperate measures to keep up with the demand for flour and yeast. It seems that Keto has gone out the window for most of us. We realize that not only is Jesus the bread of life but bread is life. We are kneading, pounding, rising and baking our way through. I’m doing the same. I highly recommend it for culinary and emotional catharsis.
The Bible talks about the eating habits of three unrefined but very determined prophets.
The first two, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, ministered to the people of God during a national exile to Babylon. Jerusalem had been taken and the people of God were dispersed into Babylonian Empire. A time of isolation, loneliness and distress.
John, one of the twelve disciples, ministered during another time of distress. The early Christians were enduring an intense persecution under the Roman Empire. John was exiled to the Island of Patmos where he wrote down Revelation. A time of isolation, loneliness and distress.
All three, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and John, were commanded to do the same exact thing. “Eat this book”, to literally ingest the scriptures.*
I do not want to compare Covid-19 to the Babylonian Exile or Roman persecution. But the stark visual remains. In times of isolation, loneliness and distress, what are you eating?
For me, being in scripture has been the daily reassurance and grounding that I need. Simple truths like, “we’ve been here before”, “God can be trusted” and “learning to trust isn’t easy but very good for me”.
It doesn’t have to be a lot, but how can you make sure you are ingesting what brings reassurance and trust as opposed to distress and worry?
If you are feeling the effects of isolation, loneliness or distress perhaps these same words are what you need to hear, “eat this book”.
*Ezekiel 2:8-13; Jeremiah 15:15; Revelation 10:9-10