In the Word: Sweeter than Honey

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be studying Psalm 19:7-11 together.The grieving heart will often grasp at anything that seems to offer even the smallest glimmer of comfort. But every attempt to be comforted apart from God and His Word will only end in greater disappointment. In this series, we will be examining the richness of the Word, and discover how we, as Hope Moms, can find true and lasting comfort in Scripture. 

Enduring Forever

“They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.”
Psalm 19:10

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Emotions are a tricky thing. They can’t be trusted. They can’t be relied upon. They are constantly changing and all-consuming if you allow them to be. I haven’t even hit the one year anniversary of my daughter going home to Jesus, and yet I have already learned how quickly and intensely my emotions can grab hold of my heart and lead me to places I’d rather not be if I listen to them rather than to God’s Word. But God has given us something to combat these emotions. Something that is trustworthy, reliable, and an ever-present source of truth. Something that is more precious than gold and sweeter than honey. He has given us such a loving gift—His Word. 

I’m so thankful that we serve a loving, patient, and forgiving God. I’ve asked for a lot of that along this grief journey. There have been days, weeks, and even months where I have been so confident in God’s sovereignty, His plan. I have boasted of His life-saving Word and have found joy, despite the ache to hold my daughter on this side of heaven. But then there have been days and weeks where my emotions and the busyness of life have taken hold and have led me astray.

The past few weeks have been especially tough. My husband and I have been in the middle of selling our house, buying a new one, and moving, all while I have been wrapping up another year of teaching. My priorities quickly shifted from time with God and His Word, to packing boxes, cleaning the house, and just continuing to “go, go, go.”

There is always one thing or another demanding our attention and trying to pull us away from sitting in the stillness of God’s presence. I’m sure you can relate. Before I knew it, my heart was heavy, the tears flowed often, and I quickly felt alone, lost, and unseen despite the many blessings that surrounded my life. I wish I could say that I had just gone running back to His Word—that I made the time to sit in His presence and soak up His goodness laid out in the Bible. But I didn’t. I let myself get down and called as many friends as I could who would sympathize with me and my pain. The “why” questions that I hadn’t visited in quite a while reared their ugly heads again. Why was Paige taken so soon? Why is everyone else’s life around me going so smoothly, just like they’ve asked for, and mine is nothing like I would’ve ever asked for? So many lies from the enemy encircled me. I was angry, confused, hurt, and alone. Or so I thought.

And then I cried out. Our good, good Father led me to a weekend retreat, and I stopped what I was doing and gave it all to God. I gave Him the questions, the pain, and the anger. Yet again, He showed up and graciously received everything I hurled at Him. Truthfully, He was always there. He was waiting for me so patiently with open arms—ready to forgive me for drifting so far away, again, ready to mend my aching, confused heart with His love, ready to share His goodness through His Word. God’s law, His precepts, are such incredible gifts wrapped up in His Word, just waiting for us to unwrap.

“They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.”
Psalm 19:10

If I looked at each sentence of His Word as if it were a bar of pure gold, would I be so quick to forget to spend time in it each day? The psalmist in Psalm 19 compares God’s Word to the preciousness of pure gold and the sweetness of honey dripping straight off the honeycomb. God loves us so much that He not only freely give us His Word, but He takes the time to compare it to earthly objects so that we may understand a little better what a treasure it is that we have in front of us. Not only are His words precious and valuable, made for us to find guidance and truth, but they are also full of sweetness, made for us to enjoy and crave.

When we spend time in God’s Word, we are filling ourselves up with the Holy Spirit. Rather than filling our piggy banks with gold, God is filling our “spiritual banks” with something far better than gold—God Himself! If we allow God to fill us with the preciousness and sweetness of His precepts, then on those days when we feel like we are running on empty and are completely spent, we can tap into that “spiritual bank” that God has been building up through time spent in His Word.

Sweet sister, though we are like fragile leaves floating in God’s grace, He has given us something more precious than gold to keep us grounded. Let’s keep finding the time to sit in His Word and soak up the precious sweetness that He has so lovingly given.