Sweeter Than Honey

Sweeter Than Honey

The laws of the LORD . . . are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. –Psalm 19:9-10

At the risk of boring you with our private banter, I will tell you that David and I often look at each other after a meal and say, “I just need that little taste of something sweet.” Honestly, though I can remember when we first overheard a friend utter the phrase, I can’t remember why we find it humorous. I suppose we repeat it now not because it is so funny, but because it is so often true. We often find ourselves unsatisfied, wanting a little “taste of something sweet.”

In searching for metaphors to describe the sensory satisfaction of the Word of God, the psalmist reaches for the epitome of sweetness. And in the era before refined sugar, honey was the sweetest taste people ever enjoyed. So that is how he described what the Word of God tastes like for those whose taste buds have been trained to appreciate its flavor.

God wants to give you a taste of something sweet. That is why he has given you his Word. It is not meant to be drudgery you force-feed yourself because you know it is good for you. He intends for his Word to be a lavish and satisfying feast, an invigorating taste sensation, a treat. But we so easily turn what he has given as a delightful gift into a guilt-inducing demand.

If you find that the Word of God is often tasteless and unenjoyable, would you ask God to give you a spiritual sweet tooth? When he does, the sweetness of the Word of God will work its way into the blandness of your everyday life and the bitterness of your everyday pain.

Some days our experiences are far from sweet—they are as sour as our disposition, so overwhelmingly sad we think our hearts will burst. It is in these foul-tasting days, when our emotions are flat and our spirits are dry, that we come to the Word of God searching for a taste of something sweet. We’ve tasted before, and our taste memory tells us that the Lord is good. It is his goodness that draws us to him and his sweetness that satisfies as we feed on his Word.

Sweet Savior, how your words of life satisfy my hunger for truth and meaning and cleanse from my palate the bitter taste of my sin and suffering. Keep satisfying my cravings with the sweetness of your words.

DIGGING DEEPER