James tells us that the Word of God can save our souls (James 1:21).  Paul tells us the same thing (1 Corinthians 15:1-2).  We are not surprised when Paul refers to the Word of truth as the gospel of salvation (Ephesians 1:13).  The word of God has the power to save.

There are not too many things that have such power.  The devil knows the power of the Word of God.  He would love nothing more than to keep it away from as many people as possible.

Luke 8:11–12 (ESV)
¹¹ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

Satan knows that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), and that faith leads to salvation.  We should know the same thing.  This week, knowing the value and power of God’s Word (Hebrews 4:12), let us consider what we should do with it.

We should desire God’s Word.

1 Peter 2:2 (ESV)
² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—

The word “desire” here is a strong word that literally means to yearn or earnestly crave for something (Strong). The ESV uses the words “long for.”  Peter is not talking about a passing emotion that comes and goes almost without notice.  He is speaking of an insatiable passion for something.

We must all crave the Word of God.  Peter uses the word “desire” in the imperative mood which means it is a command.  He is literally saying, “You must desire the sincere milk of the Word.”  This is not only essential to spiritual development, it is essential to maintaining whatever spirituality we achieve in Christ.  Delighting in the Word of God is a characteristic of every good and strong child of God throughout the ages.

Paul wrote, “For I delight in the law of God in my inner being (Romans 7:22).  Job once said, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).   The Psalmist described the blessed man this way: “…but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2), and Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart…” (Jeremiah 15:16).

Do you feel this way about the Word of God?  We will not consistently grow in Christ without having a craving for it.  This is why there are far too many in Christ who are not developing as they should.  There are too many who can go day after day, week after week, even month after month, without spending any real personal time in the Word of God.  That is a recipe for disaster—a formula for failure—because apart from the Word of God there can be no substantial growth in Christ or even the maintaining of what we already have.

If we want to reach our full potential in Christ, we must develop a sincere desire for the Word.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.