Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.
—Jeremiah 15:16
This verse teaches us three things. First, that the finding of God’s Word comes only to those who diligently seek it. Second, the eating means personally taking hold of the Word for our own sustenance. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). Third, we also learn about the rejoicing: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field” (Matthew 13:44).
Eating is here the central thought. It is preceded by the searching and finding. It is accompanied and followed by the rejoicing. It is the only aim of the one; it is the only cause of the other. In the secrecy of the inner chamber, much depends on this.
To realize the difference between this and the finding of God’s words, compare the corn a man may have stored in his granary with the bread on his table. All the diligent labor he has put into sowing and harvesting his grain cannot profit him unless he eats of the bread. Do you see the application of this to your Scripture study in the morning quiet time? You need to find God’s words and master them by careful thought, so as to have them stored in your mind for your own use. In this work there may often be the joy of harvest or of victory—the joy of treasure secured or difficulties overcome. Yet we must remember that this finding and possessing the words of God is not the actual eating of them.
The fact that a farmer possesses good, wholesome corn will not nourish him. Similarly, the fact of being deeply interested in the knowledge of God’s Word will not of itself nourish your soul. “Thy words were found”—that happened first. “And I did eat them”—that brought the joy and rejoicing.
It is such feeding on the Word that will enable you to say, “And Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” George Müller said that he learned not to stop reading the Word each day until he felt happy in God. Then he felt prepared to go out and do his day’s work.