More important than my food

I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. – Job 23v12

I love to eat. I wish it were not so, but I do love to eat. I can even get selfish when it comes to food. It is a battle that I constantly have to fight. I always want that extra pork chop or those last few chips or that last slice of apple pie. I have learned in the last year or two to control that, but it doesn’t change the fact that I still treasure that extra food which is far and above what is necessary for my daily living.

I don’t think I have ever been truly hungry to the point that I had to eat or die. While fasting I have thought I was really hungry and all I wanted was to make a sandwich or something to satiate my hunger. That desire is very real and controlling and it is those times that I use to remind me to pray for whatever matter we are fasting over.

And then I read about Job and his attitude toward the word of God. As part of Job’s retrenching of his faith he claims that he treasured God’s words more than even his necessary food. Notice, he does not treasure God’s word more than that extra pork chop, but more than the food he needs to even survive.

I am challenged by that. I don’t think I would ever let a day go by without prioritising a meal, but there are days when I have to ‘make myself’ spend time in God’s word. Now, while I am always glad that I did, I am afraid that I don’t always have the same desire to spend time in God’s word as I do to spend time over the dinner plate.

How often do we treasure God’s word more than our daily bread?