Go Slow

Reflection 

Have you ever ingested food only because you knew you needed to eat, or you ate it with such speed that you have little recollection of what you ate or how it tasted? At times, running between meetings, I eat lunch on the go. The food is eaten, but the satisfaction of good food is not a part of the equation. At other times, I inhale a snack or meal, again leaving me without satisfaction or enjoyment. Yet in other settings like a dinner party or when introduced to an unfamiliar food, I take small bites, tasting each morsel, filled with curiosity and intrigue. This type of eating is entirely different. Too often, I have treated daily Bible reading like a typical meal or snack. . . a necessary part of the day, something that I should do, or something that I rushed through as part of a routine.

One morning, I was reading in the Old Testament as a part of my daily quiet time. I read a section in Nehemiah, and I realized that I had read multiple verses and had no clue what I was reading. Time was short, and I needed to get out the door for work. I reasoned that it was okay that I didn’t really know what was happening and that maybe by the end of the chapter I would have figured it out. But the Holy Spirit prompted me to start again and be satisfied with a morsel that I truly digested. And on that morning, I didn’t read fast nor did I fulfill my self-imposed daily required portion of scripture. Instead, I read and reread the three verses, going slowly and contemplating what they meant in light of what was happening, what the context was, and what the Lord might want me to understand. During that day, I often came back to think about those few verses. It began a pattern of reading smaller passages, seeking depth of understanding over coverage of a chapter or two.

Application

Too often as believers, we take part in disciplines of our faith without alignment of our head and heart. Choosing to intentionally consider what these disciplines mean, what they say about the Lord, or what God is trying to communicate to us through them enables us to make these more than a discipline and instead a commitment to seek the Lord Himself, the object of our affections.

In Psalm 34:8, we read, “Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” I find the verb ‘taste’ curious here. It doesn’t say eat, gobble, or devour. Instead, this invitation is personal and reaps the knowledge that the Lord is good when we taste and see. This scripture helps me connect a delicious bite of an appetizer or a morsel of a rich chocolate with the joy of understanding more about God when I linger and thirst for more of Him. 

In case the passage in Psalms is not enough to convince you, there is a curious passage in Ezekiel 3:1, where God tells Ezekiel to eat the scroll before speaking to the people of Israel. And then this beautiful verse in Ezekiel 3:3:

“Then he said to me, ‘ Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.”

This imagery prompts us to ingest the Word, to fill up on it, and to enjoy its sweetness. What an encouragement to make reading the Word of God with anticipation of being filled with more of Him.

Closing/conclusion

There is a time to read Scripture and understand it in a more holistic manner, hearing the story, feeling the action, and walking away with the beauty of His message. But I also know that there is a time to go slow. To meditate on only a verse or two, to linger with the message, and to commune with the God of the universe to better understand His character, to reflect deeply on what He wants us to learn, and to see that the Word of God is a living document. Perhaps this week, you might choose to go slow and taste the sweetness of His love letter to you. 

Maryellen Berry