More Than

What comes to mind when you hear the name "Job"?  Suffering, perhaps.  Patience.  You think of some guy back in the Old Testament who endured a lot.  All of that would be correct, of course.

Today I'm not thinking about what Job endured.  I'm thinking about something he said.

[Job said], I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."             (Job 23:12 NASB, emphasis mine)

More than necessary food.  That's quite a statement, isn't it?  Job treasured God's words more than he treasured his necessary food.

Job didn't have the written Word of God, yet he hung onto, treasured, every word that came from God.  Although we don't hear from God audibly, we have the great blessing of having the written Word of God available to us.  In multiple formats.  In multiple translations.  Leatherbound or paperback.  On our I-pads and our computers and our smart phones.

But are we treasuring it, as Job did?

If I take Job's statement and apply it to my own life, I have no trouble agreeing with him.  I have, I do treasure God's Word more than my necessary food.  Before you think I have put myself on too high a pedestal, let me explain.

I don't really treasure "necessary food" all that much.  Vegetables and fruits and all the other stuff that is "good for me" are not really a treasure to me.

It's the unnecessary food that is my treasure!  Ice cream and chocolate.  Snickers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Milkshakes.  Pie.  You get the idea.  These are the foods that  I love! 

And if I'm honest, it is often much more difficult for me to say that "I treasure His Word more than my unnecessary food"!  Not always, but certainly more often than I would really like to admit.

That's my struggle.  You may not have a food struggle.  Your struggle may be altogether different.

I don't know how you would fill in the blank.  But it's a question we each much answer. 

What are we treasuring more than the Word of God?

Something to think about.

"I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."  (Job 23:12 NASB)