You Are What You Eat
How to Turn Weakness into Strength
By Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
* 출처 https://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/you-are-what-you-eat/
* 듣기 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFDcsdtgACA
A lot of Christians start their spiritual journeys /but don’t go very deep.
Why?
They’re malnourished.
What would happen if you had a big basketball game to play in /but didn’t eat for three days /leading up to it?
Or if you just had Oreo cookies and Diet Coke?
When your body was tested, you’d have no resources to draw from—and the results wouldn’t be good.
People say that we are what we eat.
The same is true spiritually.
If we’re going to grow spiritually, we need food.
Way back in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 8:3 says,
“Man does not live /on bread alone but on every word //that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (NIV).
In other words, we can have any kind of food () we delight /in /for our physical bodies,
but our inner spiritual beings—the new person () Christ has created in each of us
—will not profit /unless we take in [spiritual food]
The apostle Peter knew about that.
In 1 Peter 2:2 he wrote, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (NIV).
There’s no substitute for the Word of God.
We can have church meetings, sing praise and worship songs, and hang out with other Christians
—those all have their place—but none of those things is [the food () we need].
[The milk and bread //that the Scriptures talk about] is our reading in the Word of God.
The Bible tells [us] [several things about this].
First, we can’t eat /once a week.
What kind of person says on Thursday, “Wow, I haven’t eaten [a thing] /all week,
but I remember [that great meal () I had on Sunday]!”
It’s like that /with the Word of God.
We’ve got to get daily food.
Second, we have to take God’s Word /into our hearts /by meditation.
The word for “meditation” in the Old Testament means “chew.”
We don’t take food and swallow it /whole; we chew it.
The psalmist wrote, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate /on it /all day long” (Psalm 119:97, NIV).
We can’t be in a rush /when we read the Scripture.
God’s Word is not a newspaper.
We need to spend time /meditating on it.
Third, we’ve got to understand [what we’re reading].
That starts /with having a translation (not a paraphrase; translations are done by scholars)
that we can enjoy and easily digest.
I recommend the New International Version (NIV) or the New Living Translation (NLT).
Also, we need to ask the Author to help us understand what He wrote.
The Bible says that all Scripture was inspired by God (see 2 Timothy 3:16).
When we read the Bible /each day, let’s try asking the Holy Spirit to help us understand.
We don’t need a long prayer—we can just humble our hearts, quiet ourselves,
and say, “Spirit of God, teach [me] [the meaning of this].
My natural mind is so limited. God, help me.” And He will!
Sometimes, after praying like that, we can read a verse //that we’ve read /twenty times /before
and think, “Wow! I’ve never noticed that!”
That’s called revelation—an unveiling of what the Scripture means to our hearts.
The Holy Spirit makes [the Word of God] [real to our hearts], where it’ll really profit us.
Let’s not neglect our hearts.
Let’s feed our inner spiritual persons with the food () God has provided.
If we “eat” it right, we’ll be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Prayer
Lord God, open our eyes /to new revelations in Your Word.
Help [us] [not to rush through our Bible time] but to slow down and meditate on what You wrote.
Help [us] [to feed our souls daily] /so we can better serve You. Amen.
For More Encouragement
- Listen to the full message by Pastor Jim Cymbala: “Soul Food: The Importance of God’s Word”
- Encourage someone who needs the light: “Daily Devotionals with Pastor Jim Cymbala” and “YouVersion Bible App Devotionals”
- Visit Pastor Cymbala’s Facebook page