“Once upon a time there was a loveable bear named Winnie the Pooh…” the story began. And the stories live on. Our children grew up on those tales. Through the years I have gotten to know and love that loveable bear. In fact, we have some things in common.
First and foremost, is the “eye for honey.” Pooh looked forward to positioning his paw for a “smackeral” from a honey pot around elevenish each day. I prefer adding it to a hot cup of tea, baking cookies with it, and, even better, including a little more than called for in my homemade granola. A yummy nutritious chunk of oatmeal, fruit, nuts, coconut and other necessities held together by the natural, sweet sticky substance called honey is an energy pick-me-up nugget (around elevenish or any other time.) Just a nibble can hold you over until dinner is ready, or just another nibble might help when a rumbly tummy happens in the middle of the night.
While the chunky granola nuggets provide just the right snack when physical energy runs low, God’s Word comes to the rescue of a spiritually and emotionally famished soul. David wrote “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103).
In desperation, Jeremiah, God’s prophet, called out to God in his distress and persecution. As he heard from the Lord, Jeremiah responded, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jeremiah 15:16). This is pretty wonderful and reminds me of a story:
I heard the story of some prisoners of war being held in a camp with little to nothing to go on. There were some who knew Scripture verses by heart. Together, they put together their own “Bible” of memorized verses and encouraged themselves and others with it. Surely, they must have had a Jeremiah feeling.
God speaks today. Through His Word, God shows up and speaks into our personal situations. I love reading Psalm 119. Many of the 176 verses point out the importance of God’s Word. A chorus learned in Vacation Bible School years ago came to mind. It comes from this Psalm, verse 11. “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, That I might not sin against Thee; That I might not sin, that I might not sin, Thy Word have I hid in my heart” (KJV). His Word protects us. And for guidance, in verse 105 we have the assurance “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (ESV).
“Nuggets” from the Word quench a starving spirit, keep us going, and can be shared with someone else in time of need. Like good granola snacks, they keep well, whether stored in the heart, memory, in a computer file, or on an index card in your pocket for pick-me-up moments along the trail of life. I have a lot of them in my “nugget jar.” I just help myself. Readers, if you don’t have a nugget container, I challenge you to start one.