Yearn For His Word

1 Peter 2:2,3
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

     The other day we contrasted this with the one previous to it. It was two contrasting desires. Today’s is for the Word. The other was the sinful craving for the things we want. It involved malice and envy. Today I want to focus solely on desiring God’s Word.  
     We are to long for it as a baby does it’s milk. We’ve all seen this. A baby will reach out and grab the bottle and vigorously drink it. If it’s not delivered in a satisfactory time, the baby will cry. We are to want it that badly. It’s a beautiful thing to have a strong appetite for God’s Word. 
     I have my bible time in the mornings. They are good times. When I’m done, I walk away satisfied, almost as if I’ve had a good meal. My anxiety is usually lessened and my faith is strengthened. More importantly, I’ve just made a connection with God. It’s rarely recognizable at the time. It’s more of an accumulation. I feel closer to God. 
     In the other day’s entry I mentioned it’s like building a habit. These normally require a month or so to build. It usually isn’t easy. We do it, because we know we should. It may be like exercising. It’s not fun, but after a while it’s an enjoyable part of our lives. By being in His Word, we begin to love it. 
     If I miss a few days, I can feel it’s absence. This makes sense in several ways: it’s our food, it’s how we commune with God, it’s how we grow, etc. Today’s passage calls it the pure milk of the Word. It’s how we feed our spirits. Much like we crave particular meals, we begin to crave the Word, because of the health it brings to us. The second way we miss it is because it’s how we connect with God. It’s His Word. It’s the main way He speaks to us. We listen to Him by reading His Word. If we aren’t in the bible, we aren’t listening to Him. We often try to justify it’s absence by saying we’re spiritual and gain that connection with nature. There is some truth to that, but we are missing the primary way He has chosen to speak to us, the bible. His clear message is in there. Other impressions are vague and can often be wrong. 
      The above passage speaks of the Word as our method of growth, “so they by it you may grow in respect to salvation”. It’s a wonderful process. We read His Word. It’s fellowship with Him. It’s good. We live our days. He works in our circumstances; sometimes it’s easy, other times it difficult. In all, it’s growth. It’s satisfying to see and feel this growth. We begin to yearn for more. We know His Word is a part of it and we begin to yearn for it, as a baby yearns for milk.
     Lord, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the maturity and healthy that You bring us. Help us to stay in Your Word.