Focus: Just A Little Honey! (Pt.2)

Text: 1Sam.14:29

"Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of the honey."

With no food in their stomachs Saul's army defeated the enemy of Israel. How much more victory they would have had if they had tasted or eaten some food? Just a little honey that Jonathan tasted, and his eyes were brightened up and his strength was renewed.

Spiritually speaking, you need to have a taste of God's honey, which is the word of God. The psalmist declares, "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb" (Ps.19:10). He says again, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Ps.119:103). Nothing is as sweet as God's word. Indeed it is sweetening to the soul. God's word is tasty, strengthening and fulfilling. 

God's word equips and empowers you to conquer your enemies - the flesh, the world, and the devil. God's word is your sword - an offensive weapon. The devil cannot withstand you because of the word of God in your heart.

You need more than just a little honey. You need the whole honey. It is in large supply. The English Bible is a library of sixty six books, and it contains all that you will ever need in this life and the life beyond this. Most importantly, Jesus Christ is the Word of God personified. He is living Word and the embodied Word. John writes, "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God" (Rev.19:13). You have the written Word. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit.

The need is for you to embrace the whole of Christ and experience the power of God in your life. You win great victories over your enemies by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Paul says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom…" (Col.3:16). That is the secret of a victorious Christian life. 

Taste the whole honey. Enjoy the word of God. Store it in your heart. Meditate on it. Feed on the honey of God's word. Believe it. Use it to win your battles. Defeat the enemy of your soul with it. Embrace every aspect of it, and exalt it above all human opinions and traditions.

This honey of Scripture will enable you to take the battle beyond Beth-Aven (1Sam.14:23). Defeating the enemy is not a one time thing; it is a continuous thing. At every level of life, there is a devil for you to fight and overcome. It is said, 'New level, new devil.'

Beth-aven means house of vanity, of nothingness, of sheer emptiness, of trouble, of iniquity, of wickedness, of idolatry, of naught, or of idols (Hos.4:15; 5:8; 10:5).

By feeding on Christ and feasting on His word, you are ably equipped and thoroughly empowered to face the battles of life, and be sure of victory. You will gain strength in your eyes and confidence in your spirit by God's honey.

How can you fight without energy? How can you conquer your enemy without adequate equipment? Insensitive leadership and religious hypocrisy are part of the problem of the church. How can a Saul make his soldiers fast on a day of battle? What kind of insensitivity and insincerity is that? That's nothing but maintaining a show of religion while denying true spirituality. Saul was hiding his spiritual emptiness, moral flaws, mental illness and God's disapproval of him. Otherwise, isn't it insanity to lead soldiers to the battlefield on empty stomachaches? Who was Saul trying to deceive? Can we stop this needless cover up? It's extremely difficult to cover up spiritual nakedness.

Spiritual emptiness or nakedness has a way of showing up until it is properly addressed, rightly filled or adequately dressed.

Take the word. Read it. Believe it. Know it. Avail yourself of its richness and power. Use it to conquer your enemies. It is the honey for your soul. Just a little honey!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter