When I was young, I visited a friend’s house and planned to stay overnight. We had played all afternoon, and now the clock was moving well past the time I usually ate dinner at home. Finally, quite late in the evening, my friend’s mother began to serve a delicious meal. She grinned at me and said, “I find that if I wait a long time to cook dinner, everyone likes what I make!”

Her culinary strategy may connect with the verse above; but as the proverb is divinely inspired, it is therefore mainly intended for spiritual guidance, not merely kitchen wisdom. Everyone enjoys the sweetness of honey—everyone, that is, except someone who is already full. Spiritually, this pictures those who have tried to satisfy themselves with the things of this world. Although our souls are never truly nourished by those counterfeit foods, they will dull our appetites for the sweetness of God’s Word. The Bible’s most precious promises and the Savior’s most exalted glories will seem quite unappealing if we have filled our bellies with earthly things.

If, however, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, even that which seems bitter to our natural senses will taste sweet to our souls. The Father’s discipline, for example, might seem grievous; but it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness when we have been trained by it (Heb. 12:11). A corrective Bible message might seem bitter, but to the servant of the Lord those warnings are sweeter than honey (Ps. 19:10–11).

Psalm 119 celebrates the Word of God by declaring, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (v. 103). And Jeremiah continues the theme: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jer. 15:16).