Ruminate to Rejuvenate
Recently Pastor “got us” when he asked the question, “How many stomachs does a cow have?” Most of us answered, “Four,” but then one rang out, “One stomach, four chambers.” That was the answer he was looking for and he was about to use that information to push home an important message. The cow has 4 compartments in its stomach: one helps ferment the ingested food, one helps form “cud,” another acts as a filter, removing toxins and aiding in absorption of nutrients, and the last chamber is the "true stomach," using acids and enzymes to digest proteins, much like a human stomach.
That process is long, maybe it’s where we get the saying, “Let me chew on that for a while.” The word Pastor used was “ruminate,” which Webster’s defines as, for the cow…the long act of chewing…starting the stomach process, or for us, to think deeply on a subject. Synonyms include ponder, contemplate, reflect, mull over, or deliberate; you could even say meditate on something. Pastor was using the process…this word…to illustrate how important it is for us to not just read the bible, but to really READ the bible. To ponder it, meditate on it, ask God for clarification on it so we can truly absorb it and apply it to our lives.
The more we ruminate over God’s word, the more we understand His heart, the more we can grow to love Him because we become aware of His love for us. Everything about our Father magnifies as we reflect on His promises and His blessings. As we gain wisdom about the greatness of our Father, another truly remarkable thing happens…the influence of Satan in our lives gets smaller and smaller. Just like the 3rd chamber of the cow’s stomach filters out toxins, as we absorb all the goodness of God, there is no room for evil in our lives and He begins to rejuvenate us by filtering out hate, bitterness and anger.
When we just skim the pages, we’re not really understanding the full meaning and impact of God’s words. I recently heard someone say that the thought of “reading the bible” was overwhelming, so it was her goal to read one scripture a day, study it and research it by looking up related scripture, or read the verses around it to gain more clarification. James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” There are no stupid questions in God’s eye. He’d rather you ask a question than to skip over something without gaining anything from it. He’d rather you read one scripture with clarity than the whole bible with a foggy understanding.
Chew on that for a while…