In the late 1970’s and early 80’s, there was a commercial on TV that claimed that their bubble-gum would “tickle your tongue pink”. I believed this colorfully striped zebra because the Zebra told me it was true. One Saturday morning when my Mom was buying groceries, I begged my Mom for a pack of this miracle gum. She finally relented, and bought me a pack of this colorfully striped gum. I couldn’t wait to put a piece in my mouth to see how much it would tickle my tongue.
The first piece didn’t work, so I put another piece in my mouth and chewed on it.
It too, did not work, so I tried a third piece, and then a fourth piece. After devouring all 25 sticks and finding that it did not tickle my tongue, I was super disappointed. When I complained to my Mom, she couldn’t stop laughing.
Now, imagine for a moment that you were given a piece of chewing gum that tasted better with time. The longer you chewed on it, the juicier and sweeter it became.
Better still, the more you chewed on that piece of gum, the healthier you became. Think of the ramifications; if you had to deal with the incredible pain of divorce, all you would need to do it to chew on that one piece of gum to be completely healed of rejection and loss. Or suppose, every day you dealt with the incredibly painful words that were spoken by your father when you were young. After simply chewing on that piece of bubble gum for just a few hours . . . and your anger, hurt and disappointment would turn into a heart full of forgiveness and love for your Father. Chewing on the Word of God is the real thing. The more you chew on it, the better it tastes. The longer you chew on it, the healthier you become. Allow me a moment to elaborate.
Scripture Creates Life
Genesis 2:5-7 reads:
5When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
God breathed, and man became a living creature. We also find a passage in 2 Timothy where it reads:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
So how does Scripture create life? Because Scripture finds it’s life in the breath of God, it breathes life into everyone that reads or hears the Word of God.
Chewing on the Word is Medicine for the Soul
- Chewing on the Word has the power to breathe life into your soul, transforming your brokenness into a thriving new creation.
- Chewing on the Word will breathe life into your identity, because it will tell you who you are in the eyes of God.
- Chewing on the Word will breathe life into your marriage because God is relational.
- Chewing on the Word will breathe life into your hopeless situation, because he is hope defined.
- Chewing on the Word will breathe life into your heart to love with the love of the Father.
The Word will breathe life into your soul, turning your weariness into strength. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 can be summed up this way:
16All Scripture is breathed out by God . . . 17that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
What is it that you are not “complete” in? In other words, what do you feel ill-equipped for?
Whatever area in your life that you believe is incomplete, . . . as you pour over the Word, allowing it to saturate your heart, _____________ will be restored.
The only difference between one day and the next, is what you bring to the table. Chew on the Word like a cow, and tomorrow you will be more _____________ than you are today.
You see, it does not matter what it is that you need to be healed of, or what needs to be restored. Regardless of what word you entered in the blank lines above, the Word (that which is breathed out by God himself), has the power to breathe life into your situation and circumstance.
Equipped to Influence
Not only will the Lord breathe healing into you, but as you chew on the Word, you will be “equipped for every good work”. In other words, when you chew on the Word, you will find that you bring life to others.
As the Lord breathes joy in to you, that joy overflows to others. As he breathes encouragement to you, that encouragement spills over to others. He breathes life into your relationships, into your marriage, into your soul. His breath creates life, and that life does not die over time, but rather brings life both to you, and to others in your sphere of influence. The more you chew, the more you are equipped to influence.