I was surprised this morning . . . surprised by the word of God . . . surprised by a promise of God . . . not the first time that has happened. As I worked my way through my readings, before getting to the Psalms, I was pretty sure that I’d “pen” some words around Joshua’s “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15) or put together some thoughts on Paul’s warning to not allow our liberty in Christ to become a stumbling block to a brother or sister in Christ (1Cor. 8:9,13). But then I came to Psalm 81 . . . and a promise of God jumped off the page . . . and an image (from God?) popped into my head.

The picture that formed was that of a parent trying to feed a little kid in a high chair who refused the food. Been there . . . done that. Didn’t matter if it was icky-looking green stuff on a spoon or the most inviting jiggly red Jell-O . . . there were those times when you just couldn’t get the food on that spoon past those pierced lips. No matter how much you pleaded . . . no matter how “fun” you tried to make it . . . even if the food was delivered as a plane coming in for a landing . . . the mouth was fixed shut . . . the head would turn to the side . . . they were having none of it. And then, there were the times when feeding them was impossible not because they had their mouth shut, but because they had it stuffed with other things . . . their hand . . their foot . . . a toy . . . the cat (okay, never saw one of my kids stuff the cat in their mouth . . . just kidding).

Anyway, you get the idea . . . that’s the image that formed in my mind as I read the Lord’s promise to His people in Psalm 81:

“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” – Psalm 81:10b

God promised that He would have fed His people “with the finest of wheat” . . . that He would have satisfied them with the purest and sweetest of “honey from the rock” (81:16) . . . but first, they needed to desire it . . . they needed to receive it . . . they needed to “open wide”. “But,” says the Lord, “My people would not heed my voice, and Israel would have none of me” (81:11). They refused . . . pierced their lips . . . turned away their heads . . . filled their mouths with other gods . . . stuffed themselves with the “foods” that looked good to them but had absolutely no nutritional value.

I don’t want to be caught making the same mistake. Oh, that I might heed His word . . . that I would lay hold of the promise presented to me this morning . . . that I would open wide, that He might fill me.

David says I should “feed on His faithfulness” (Ps. 37:3) . . . that I should “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8). I am to desire the “pure milk of the word” (1Peter 2:2) . . . “How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103). Oh, the banquet table is full of good stuff from the Lord . . . through His word . . . by His Spirit . . . 24/7 . . . what I need to do is open wide! I need to thirst for the things of God . . . I need to hunger for the things of the kingdom. I need to cut down on the junk food and free up some space for some “prime rib and gravy.” I need to let go of the spoon . . . and let the Father fill me as He has promised.

Pretty basic promise . . . pretty simple dynamic. If I but open wide, without reserve, clearing the way of all distraction and ungodliness, then He will fill me . . . with His word . . . with His Spirit . . . with hope . . . with peace . . . with strength. He will quench the thirst . . . He will satisfy the hunger . . . and He will get all the glory . . . amen!