Man shall not live by bread alone

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

The Lord Jesus fasted for 40 days and He became very hungry. During that time, the devil came to Him and tempted Him to turn the stones into loaves of bread. Jesus told him that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Bread is for the nourishment of our physical body. The Word of God is for the nourishment of our spirit.

We all know what it feels like to be hungry. Whenever we feel hungry, we automatically look or search for food. When you are physically really hungry, it doesn’t matter if the food is cooked to your liking. You are just hungry and you will eat what is put before you. A man may die or become sick if he didn’t eat food for a period of time.

A major problem is that many people focus only upon the physical. Many do not know that we have spirits. Our spirits also need food. Our spirits can also become hungry. But it is different from our physical body. In our physical body, the longer we do not eat food, the weaker the body becomes. While on the spiritual, the longer we go without spiritual food, the less hungry we become. The moment we become content and stagnant spiritually, we start to lose spiritual hunger. If you don’t read the Bible every day, if you don’t pray continually, if you stop worshiping the Lord, time will come that you will no longer have the desire to know the Lord. You will no longer have the strength to pray for long hours. You will no longer have the cravings to read His Word. Denying our spirit often deadens our spiritual appetite. It makes you less interested in spiritual things and more interested on physical. As you become spiritually weak due to lack of the Word, you will become easily angered, irritable, depressed, discouraged and prone to sin.

Israel also demanded bread in the wilderness. During the Israelites journey in the wilderness, they complained to the Lord for not having food and water. Many of us will complain if we do not have food and water. Babies cry out when they are hungry. Many of us, when we are gone out of food, or in crisis, we cry out to the Lord. Many are complaining to Him. But Daddy God wants us to cry out to Him not just when we needed something physically, but because we need Him, and we long for the things that will feed and satisfy our spirit. How many will long for spiritual food more than they long for physical food?

David wrote, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (Psalm63:1)

Spiritual hunger is the yearning, the craving, the longing to encounter God, to know God, to understand His Word and have an intimate relationship with Him. Only the truth of God’s Word satisfies spiritual hunger.

Jeremiah wrote, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”(Jeremiah 15:16)

In John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” Jesus is saying that He is essential for life, for He is Life. The life Jesus is referring to is not physical life, but eternal life. He is spiritual bread that brings eternal life.

Jesus tells them in John 6:27, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

The more we come near to the Lord, the more we no longer hunger and thirst for the physical things that will not last. Just like how the physical food that we eat can affect our health and the appearance of our body, the spiritual food that we eat can affect our spirit. We should be all careful on what we feed our spirits. We should be careful on what we read, watch or what we do. We cannot just accept all food that is being offered to us. We have to discern and know if it is clean, pure and healthy for our soul. The more you eat the pure Word of the Lord spiritually, the more you abide in the Lord, the more you will become like Jesus.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” Matthew5:6

ALL GLORY TO GOD!

Daddy’s girl