Copyright Shae Cooke 2005

It can be said that a cow chewing her cud is a contented cow. Somewhere I read that an average cow (Lord, what is an average cow?) spends about eighteen hours of her day just chewing, for a total of sixty-seven thousand-five-hundred chews a day. (That was a useless statistic, but I thought I'd throw it in to keep your interest). So, are you wondering where I'm going with this? I'm not sure myself, but I'll let you know when my moo-d swings (hey, it's my website and I'll pun if I want to).

If I were of the bovine persuasion, I could think of things I'd rather do with my time, but I'm not a cow, (thank You Lord), and I've found out that given a choice, a cow would rather chew. Why? Well, unscientifically, and purely by my own reckoning, I imagine cud chewing is a relaxing pastime, like hair twirling, thumb twiddling, or toe tapping. However, animal biologists and farmers have a more sophisticated point of view. They say there is a purpose to the almighty chew, that when a cow chews her cud she secretes saliva, and that aids in the digestion. The spit  . . . err . . . saliva acts as an antacid and buffers the first (of four) chambers of her digestive system. This buffering act allows her to forage better, eat all that rough stuff, and therefore produce more milk. Aha! So old Bess delivers the goods, and doesn't end up on the butcher's block!

Now folks, if you still haven't figured out where I'm headed with this devotional, here's a hint:  I'm a Christian, and a writer. While you ponder my next move, I'll go put on my jersey, it's a wee chilly here at my desk--but I digress.

Okay, so Old Bess is going to chew her heart out so she doesn't go to beef.

Chew Your Heart Out

Our spiritual life is a lot like Old Bess'. Do you chew your heart out? If we don't chew, we don't do. If we ain't a chewin', we ain't a doin'. We gotta chew to live a life brand new. (What a segue into the meaty part of my message!). What do we chew on? The Bread of life, God's Word, the hidden manna.

Now, a cow won't be tempted to chew unless provided with a stimulis to aid digestion. Farmers often use longer hay (forage) to stimulate cud chewing, and they use a ratio of about 10-20% in the cow's feed. Without this stimulis, she might prefer not to chew at all! The more cud chewing, the more milk. The more milk, the less likely we'll see her sandwiched between a sesame seed bun on double-cheeseburger-for a buck day. Let me ask you, what is your stimulus? Is it just the feed, and none of the forage?

What type of time do you spend in God's Word? Do you open the cover, close your eyes, drop your finger onto the page, and hope that God has a word for you? Do you hurriedly pore over a few proverbs between your coffee and the newspaper, and hope that that counts? Do you only tackle the easy stuff (Psalms, Gospels), or what you feel applies to you? Be honest now, because I'm guilty as charged. Nevertheless, betcha never thought to look in the Book of Leviticus for answers! I did, and here's what I found (don't ya just love it--there's even cow Scripture!). In the Old Testament, the Lord gave Israel permission to eat any animal that chewed the cud, "Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing cud, that you may eat" (Leviticus 11:13). Why? As we've seen with old Bessie here, she chews, swallows, regurgitates, and chomps down on the roughage some more, then swallows it again.

There must be the closest imitation or resemblance to Christ in our lives, and only by constant feeding upon Him will this happen. We must meditate, muse, and ponder the truths of God's Word, every word, the eternal Word. Do you know that the word muse also means to chew? As we feed and feed again on every truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, on every crumb and fiber in the Bread of Life, in every grain of that hidden manna, our lives become shaped by His example. Jesus gave us good advice in Matthew 4:4, "The Scriptures say, 'People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.'". So chow down, eat it all, munch, crunch, and chomp. Enjoy it. So, eat better food than you've been eating. Enjoy it. Incorporate it. Absorb it. Learn it.

It may not take 67, 500 chews a day, just enough to ensure it goes down smoothly. The Word soon becomes a part of us and we produce spiritual milk; the ingredient God uses to use us. Sometimes the Word seems dry and without meaning; it might not go down so well, it might not be as yummy as an Oreo cookie. However, the more often you chew on it . . . really chew, the easier it slides down into the chambers of your heart and into the spiritual digestive system. And that, my friends, is when God gives you revelation, that's when He brings His Word to life, that's when His word becomes a part of who we are!

That's where the courage comes from, that's where the strength comes from, that's where the nourishment comes from, that's where the revelation comes from, that's where the victory comes from, that's where the Power is; in the deep, and in every chamber of your heart,

Mad Cow Disease

This food, God's Word, is tested to be free of additives, it's the true and Living Word of God and by its message, it is separate and different from all other worldly teachings. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). God's revelation absorbed into our lives separates us, and sanctifies us. Some may think we have mad cow disease, and they're right, except it's not a disease.we're mad for Jesus; disease only comes when we don't eat, chew, digest, regurgitate, ponder, soak, and saturate ourselves in His Word.

Doers of the Word

Now that we've digested, chewed, and fed on God's Word, it's not enough that it's just inside of us. "Because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you" (Leviticus 11:4). In other words, faith without action is nothing. We have to be doers of God's Word. One without the other produces nothing! If we're consuming, digesting, eating, feeding on Him, and His goodness is deep within us, then we have to walk out His truth in our daily lives, as those separated in a life dedicated and given to God. His Word is truth, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).

So . . . what does God's Word produce in you? A servant's heart, action? Milk soon dries up if it isn't released. If the milk is inside, what good is it? It nourishes you, yes, but what about the lost, the brokenhearted, the afflicted, the suffering, the hungry, the scared, the lonely, the downtrodden, and the lost. Who's going to feed the sheep?

What Goes Down, Must Come Up

My friends, what I speak to you, is what is on my heart. God's Word is not always what we want to hear. But we need the tough, rough, and fibery stuff to produce the right milk! Oh that God would forgive me for the times I've only glanced, only skimmed over the truths that convict me, or bother me, or are out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I gloss over rough stuff, and head straight for the icing. Sometimes it hurts going down, but God brings it back up again, and then I ponder it more, and swallow it again, and His word becomes life and nourishment for my soul. We need that nourishment; we need to grow for Him. We need to grow for others. We need to grow for the kingdom.  

What keeps you from truly receiving the revelation of God's word for you? A recent study in Australia (http://www.behave.net/application/application-kisscows.html) found that there is a 30% to 50% variance in milk production explained by the level of fear shown by the cows to humans. Now, I'm not a cow, and neither are you, so please don't suggest that I'm calling you one. But for the sake of our metaphorical look at meditating on God's Word, I ask the question, what do you fear? Are you afraid you won't have the courage you need to do what God calls you to do? Are you afraid that once you know what God's Word says, that it obliges you to walk it? Trust God. He's not going to have you walk anywhere He knows you can't go. He's knows your limits, and He'll handle you gently. The study showed that when handled gently, milk production rose. God's going to treat you with such tenderness, because kind handling pays.

Have you tired of cow statistics yet? Indulge me once more. This is important. Sixty to seventy percent of cows chew their cuds while resting. Quiet time is important to us. But how do we find it when the world glitters around us? We can't ponder God's Word effectively unless we separate ourselves from the busyness; until we schedule our days around reading God's Word, rather than the opposite. All too often we cubbyhole Him in to a moment here, or a moment there. The benefits of quiet pondering, musing, and chewing are incredible. Our quiet place is a place to remember, to be made whole, to know God; a place to heal, renew, and refocus, it's a place for confidence, questions, and answers. It's a place to see the unseen, experience the invisible, to learn God's mysteries. It's a feeding trough. Jesus said to ask and it will be given to us, to seek and we will find, to know and the door will be opened to us (Matt. 7:7, 8). Spiritual truth and direction is revealed to those who seek it, to those who make an effort and persist.

If we don't spend time in God's Word, then we're likely to do as the apostle pointed out in James 1:24, we'll go our way and forget.. But whoever looks into the perfect law of freedom and walks and in it, whoever becomes a doer of the work, is a person blessed (James 1:25).

I love the taste of T-bone steak (sorry Bess), delicious every bite, but there's nothing like the Word of God, to whet my appetite.

Tremendous power is available to every believer through the Word of God. Jesus used it to defeat Satan when he came to tempt the Lord in the desert. We can use Scripture to overcome Satan's power, too. The next time he comes against you with fear and worry you can say, "God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind!" (2 Tim. 1:7). When he makes you feel like you can't do what God asks you to do, tell him that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength! (Phil. 4:13).

Pull it all out of your digestive system.the inner recesses, and regurgitate it and use it against the enemy! "Take that you . . . wicked serpent!"

The Word is Your Stimulus

What's your stimulus? If it's the word, then you better get chewing! Or are you on a diet, because the race seems hard to run? Eat without gaining weight, try Hebrews twelve and one. Are you suffering from malnutrition, and don't know what to do? If your spiritual growth seems hindered, try the Book of 1 Peter two and two!

So you've learned a lot about cows today . . . and that's a good thing! Better still, Old Bessie has taught us to dig deep into the Word of God, and to become doers. It's a lot easier to do once we're well-nourished! God bless you as you find a quiet place and delve into His truths. By the way, the most money ever paid for a cow in an auction was $1.3 million bucks. The statistic doesn't say if it was alive or not. Now what could possibly make a cow worth that much--dead or alive? Calm down, that's fodder for another time.