An owner of a famous BBQ restaurant was interviewed one day. She was asked about how her dishes taste so extraordinarily good. She answered that it is all about her marinade mix, and her marinating technique.
I am pretty sure that most of us here know what marinating means, but to those who are not so sure, well it means letting a type of meat soak into a mixture of selected sauces, herbs, and seasonings to make it flavorful and delicious. Apart from flavor, marinating adds depth of taste to otherwise bland meats, making it taste rich and scrumptious.
As followers of Jesus, our lives will also have greater depth and richness if we are to saturate ourselves in God’s words. By keeping our minds filled with the lessons of the scriptures, we can better apply biblical knowledge into our everyday decisions, live God-honouring lives, and not be subject to the enemy’s lies that tear our souls.
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justiceand watching over the way of his saints.” Proverbs 2:6-8
In the first Psalm of the Bible, King David wrote about the benefits of a life guided by God’s words. In Psalm 1, Israel’s greatest king mentioned that a life centered on learning, reflecting and living God’s laws is a blessed life.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Psalm 1:1-3
When our life is centered on hearing God’s word and living it, we get to be strengthened by the truth of God. While we cannot avoid difficult circumstances as they are inevitable parts of life, the wisdom that we gain from meditating on God’s words will help us endure the hardships that we encounter.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16
St. Paul the Apostle describes this power of God’s word as a “Sword of the Spirit.”
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:16-17
And indeed, it is a weapon. In this age when people are bombarded with so much materialism, behaviors that promote immorality and covetousness, as well as information that fan the flames of depression and anxiety, we need a weapon that could help us neutralize the enemy.
God’s word and God’s truth should enable us to dispel the whispers of the enemy that crush our souls and push us to despair. But we can only effectively do this when our sword of the spirit is sharp enough. To make sure it is sharpened, we have to saturate our minds and hearts with God’s word.
Let us take a cue from what God said to Joshua as he took over the reins of Moses to lead the Israelites to enter the Promised Land.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
As Mothers, we should also saturate our children’s lives with God’s words. Whenever we have the opportunity, we should expose them to what the scriptures say, and encourage them to apply it in their lives. We have to intentionally do this given that we are going against the Goliaths of the digital age — Social Media, Virtual Reality, Twisted Truths, and the undying Culture of Idolatry.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7
So does this mean we are to make them study the bible 24/7? Of course not. We are to saturate ourselves and our family in God’s words in realistic and creative ways. Here are some ideas:
1. Play praise songs in the morning.
2. Encourage children to have a bible study and devotion time by buying them age-appropriate devotional books, and their own bible and journal. It will help if tey see you happily doing this too.
3. Normalize bible-based conversations in your home. Share what you have learned from your bible devotional, and bible study with your children. Talk about bible characters and their lives, and the lessons we can get in an interesting and not so preachy manner.
4. Consume digital content that promotes biblical values. There are shows, youtube channels, tv series, films, documentaries, e-books, music, and applications that promote bible-based values. Watch these in your living room — even your kids who seem disinterested at first may get interested once you all are glued to the tv. A good example is The Chosen.
5. Listen to your favorite preaching or homily podcast or channel in the living room or kitchen where children can overhear it.
6. Bring them to Sunday Mass or Worship, and tag them along in your church activities. They may just play at the side during your group bible study with other parents, but them seeing you studying God’s word will send them a message that we really have to give time to learn God’s words and treasure them.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King.”
Psalm 98:4-6
In an age where we are all being bombarded by unwholesome values and untruths, we as mothers should lead a counter-attack against such a depressing culture. By saturating our own life and the lives of our children in God’s words, we can defend ourselves from the lies of the enemy, and become a blacksmith that sharpens our family’s sword of the spirit.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Ephesians 6:10-17 and Psalm 1 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Is your life saturated in God’s words?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the Bible so that we can use it as our life guide. Lord, give us the grace to live a life saturated in your words so that we can live a life of boundless joy and peace that transcends difficulties. Amen.
