This week I was surprised. I had just finished mowing the yard and slapped the dust off my clothing. I didn’t have time to take a shower. It was already lunchtime and I had nothing started. I finished putting the mower away and began to walk back to the house, trying to figure out what I could fix up in short order. As I made my way to the house, I was greeted by a picnic blanket spread out in the shaded grass under our big walnut tree. On that picnic blanket sat my youngest son, along with a stack of paper plates and plasticware. I was about to question him when I heard the sound of the front door closing. There was my oldest son, walking towards me carrying a picnic basket filled with sandwiches, fruit, sliced carrots, drinks, and chips. We all sat on the picnic blanket, enjoying our lunch, conversation, and the beautiful weather.

The boys recognized the need for lunch, then prepared and served it. They have transitioned from being fed to feeding themselves to feeding others. My, my, what a long way they have come! I remember years ago when I first fed them baby cereal. The oldest loved it and couldn’t get enough. The younger considered it a form of torture and rebelled against any form of mushed food. I loved watching them learn how to pick up their food and shove it in their mouths. Then there was learning to use a fork and a spoon. How awkward and frustrating! But with some help and encouragement, they mastered that skill. Gradually they gained the ability and confidence to eat well on their own and prepare snacks and meals.

Learning to eat and prepare food is part of life. It’s also a part of our spiritual lives. There are many parallels between physical and spiritual nourishment. If you don’t eat, there is nothing to sustain you. There will not be growth if there isn’t sustenance.

Learning to eat is also a process. One doesn’t transition from a diet of milk to preparing and consuming steak dinners (which of course would require the use of a steak knife!). There are different levels of what can be digested as well as a variety of skills to be learned. Trying to do it all is unwise and sets one up for failure. Instead, the goal is to progress one stage at a time.

All these skills and processes revolve around one basic thing: food and getting it into your body. That’s the bottom line, physically or spiritually. The Bible tells us that our spiritual food includes the Word of God. We need to get the Word of God into our hearts and minds. This needs to be consistent in order for growth to take place. The Holy Spirit helps us in this. He is the ultimate encourager and teacher.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26 (NASB)

Ask the Holy Spirit to help and challenge you in being spiritually fed. Be attentive to the nudges and thoughts you have about this. For example, during a certain period of my life I would randomly have the thought, “You should read your Bible now.” Sometimes I would listen, and other times I would brush it off, thinking, “No, I’m planning on doing that later.” Afterwards, something unexpected would come up and change my plans, making it impossible to read when I had planned. I learned to pay attention to those nudges and thoughts. That’s the power of the Holy Spirit, meeting us where we are, and knowing what we need.

I don’t know where you are in this process or what you need. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all plan, but you do have the power of the Holy Spirit residing inside you and He knows you better than you know yourself. Seek the Holy Spirit in helping you to grow in nourishment. Develop your ability to get food, the Word of God, into your body. He desires for us to grow, and He will help us to do so.

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Instead of Scripture passages this week, prayerfully consider the next step forward in feeding on God’s Word. Where are you in the process? Are you always being fed, learning how to feed yourself, preparing your own food, or preparing and feeding others? Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into the next stage and follow His leading. Ingest the Word!