“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). 

It is not merely the exposure to the Word that will transform lives. The Word ingested is the cause for rejoicing. It is able to do its work of transformation remaking the individual into a vessel of honor. It is the contrast from the old to the new that is so amazing. Before the Word was eaten, it was made available. There was no appetite to reach out and take it in. But God allowed the void to become more apparent. Then He shut off the alternative appeals that would in the past bring temporary pleasure. He placed me where the Word may be found and placed within me the desire for something other than what I was accustomed. Then I ate what is true rather than continuing to feed on the lies of the past. Never would I have imagined that what I once rejected would bring me such joy!