I asked Rita if she ever tried it before and she said no. So I told her to taste it. She resisted. “Just taste it”, I persisted. “Just taste a little piece. At least then you’ll know if you like it or not. But you’ll never know until you taste it.” So finally I convinced Rita to taste a small portion of the ketchup and eggs. When she tasted it, her face lit up. She not only liked it, but she covered her eggs with the ketchup. She loved it. She now has a passion for it. But what started it? She had to first taste it.
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8
Likewise, the same is true with God and His Word. The first thing you need to do is taste Him. The word “taste” means to become acquainted with by experience. You need to just trust God. Put God to the test. Because until you try Him, you will never develop the passion that you need. If you do not taste and see, then you’ll never create the hunger and appetite for the Word of God. Have you ever been in the mall or the grocery store and someone comes up to you offering you a sample? For example, a Chinese restaurant employee walks up to you with some sesame chicken on a toothpick. You try the sample and say to yourself, “Boy, this is good.” The next thing you know you’re ordering Chinese food. But you weren’t even thinking about Chinese food. What happened? You tasted and saw that it was good. Therefore, it created a hunger in you.
“I have not departed from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:102-103
When you taste and see how good God and His Word are, you’ll never want to depart from Him. When you try God and experience Him, you’ll develop the passion of righteousness. You’ll have the courage and the tenacity to keep going. You’ll have the zeal inside of you to stand on His Word firm until the end. But it all starts with you putting the Word to the test.
“My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste. In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.” Proverbs 24:13-14 NLT
WHAT IS PASSION?You must have passion. There are necessary steps that you need to take to achieve your destiny. There are certain things that you need to do to get results in your life. Without passion, you will go through the motions, but you will never reach your destination. It’s going to take passion to finish the race. What is passion?
Passion – intense, driving, or overmastering feeling; an energetic pursuit of an aim or devotion to a cause; a strong liking, delight, or desire for some activity, object, or concept; a strong desire or zeal; a hunger or appetite; to have tenacity and courage; not easily pulled apart; persistent in maintaining or clinging to something valuable.You must have passion for righteousness if you want to experience all that God has for you. You must have a hunger, desire, and appetite in your heart for God’s Word. You must have a tenacity and zeal for Him. Because if you don’t, it will not take much to pull you apart from Him. You’ll start acting on His Word, but you’ll never finish. Passion says, “I’m going to stick to the Word no matter what!”
EAT TO LIVE“…men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth.” Deut. 8:3 MSG
The above Scripture doesn’t tell you to not live off of bread or food. The Scripture is saying that you don’t live off of food only. In other words, food is necessary for your physical body to live. If there’s no food you could die. Likewise, the Word of God is necessary for your spirit to live. If there’s no Word you could die (Proverbs 5:23). The Bible is just as important to you as food. You have to know that, because you make sure that you eat food. Therefore, make sure that you consume the Word of God.
Do you think that you would have a healthy body if you ate food only twice a week? Of course not! Then how do you expect your spirit to be strong by only getting the Word Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights? Don’t starve your spirit from God’s Word. Feed your spirit daily. There are so many Christians who are malnourished, spiritual midgets, because they’re not receiving an adequate amount of the Word. Get full from the Scriptures. Get full everyday and more than once a day.
“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” Matthew 5:6 MSG
When you wake up in the morning, get into God’s Word. When you’re sitting down, read the Bible or a book that will help you understand His Word. When you’re going for a walk, put God’s Word in your mouth. When you’re in your car, pop in a teaching CD that will take you to the next level. Talk to your family about the Bible. Write encouraging Scriptures on index cards and keep them with you. Even when you get in the bed, don’t close your eyes before reading the Bible. Let the Good News, not the media news, be the last thing that you see before going to bed. Talk to God. This may sound a bit much but it is God’s will for your life (Deut. 6:5-9). This is what you do when you Love God with all your heart, soul, and strength. You just have to work up an appetite for the Word of God.
~ Billie Miller "The Motivational Minister"
This article is an excerpt from the bestselling book “Life in Righteousness: The Word is Your Life”. Billie is also the author of the #1 Amazon Bestseller “30 Days of Righteousness: The Word is Your Life Action Plan”. Thousands of lives have been changed through Billie’s powerful teachings. For more information please visit www.BillieMiller.com. Follow Billie on twitter (@BillieMiller7) and on facebook (BillieMillerPage).
