Source of Life || Matthew 4:4 || Manna for the Mind #81

Welcome to Day 81 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional series! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is Matthew 4:3-4. In this passage, we witness a crucial moment in Jesus’ life where he resists a temptation from the devil. We will focus more on verse 4, where Jesus mentions how we get fed by the Word of God.

Matthew 4:3-4

3            During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

4            But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus was hungry and weak after fasting for 40 days in the wilderness, but he chose not to use his divine power to satisfy his extreme want for food. Obviously, food and eating are good things to have and do. The issue came with the timing. Jesus was sent to the wilderness to fast. It would’ve made everything a moot point if he ate at this time. Because Jesus gave up the unlimited, independent use of his divine power to experience what it was like to be fully human, he wouldn’t use his power to change the stones to bread. Jesus wanted to wait for God to provide.

We can be tempted to satisfy a desire in the wrong way or at the wrong time. It’s the idea of having sex before marriage or stealing (when not forced to do so) to get food. When we do something like that, we are incorrectly trying to satisfy God-given desires. The desires we have are normal and reasonable. Being hungry or thirsty is good. Having a relationship, either platonically or romantically, is good. Being in a community is good. However, God wants us to satisfy those desires in the right way and at the right time. In Jesus’ case, the devil tried to get him to doubt God’s love, protection, and provision. We see very similar things happening in our world today. Many sources are trying to get us to care for our desires and find external sources of love, protection, and provision. Jesus could resist all of the temptations the devil threw at the time. How? He knew what the scriptures were about, and he followed what they said. The struggle I see in today’s culture is that many different church leaders, denominations, and religions struggle to understand what the scriptures teach and how to interpret them in our society today.

Ephesians 6:17

17          Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Knowing scripture is vital to helping us resist the evil spirits of the work. Still, it’s also essential to follow what the Bible teaches. A good foundation I always follow is, “Does this follow the law of loving God with all of who I am or loving my neighbor as Jesus loved me?” This means that our actions and decisions should be guided by love for God and others, just as Jesus loved us. This mindset has been the foundation of my actions and decisions for many years. I’ve not been perfect at following this, but I’m progressing. Following this mindset is a life-long practice, but as long as I attempt to follow it earnestly and intentionally, it works. Satan knew scripture, too, but he purposely misquoted it, misinterpreted it, and did not intend to obey it. We must continue to study it and know what the Bible says and really means so that we can indeed follow God’s desires instead of Satan’s.

Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3.

Deuteronomy 8:3

3            Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Many of us think that life is about satisfying our desires. If we can earn enough money to dress, eat, and play in luxury, we will have “the good life.” These may be good, but it’s in the short term. The dopamine from it all will wear off, and then we’ll want more, and then the cycle continues to unhealthy levels of us living a life full of sin and pride. Based on what Moses said, real life is about total commitment to God and living by every word that comes from him.

How can we do that? There are five steps to do so:

Recognize our need for it. Many things in the world change with the ebbs and flows of life, but the Word of God lasts forever. In a world that’s ever-growing unstable, why not follow and hold on to the one source of stability we have the easiest access to?

Agree that God alone can truly satisfy us. How often do we buy something because we “need” it, or it looks cool or something similar, only to throw it out or stop using it after a week or a month? God ultimately provides everything we need in this world. The things we want are things we can ask him for. If it’s part of the path of life he created for us, then it will be given. If not, we can feel at peace and confident that it wasn’t meant to be.

Pray for God’s presence, wisdom, and direction as we read scripture. God is always with us, but understanding that can be hard. Asking God to show his presence in our lives is an excellent way to see how we got to where we are and how to progress forward in life. God’s wisdom is nothing compared to our own, so we need his wisdom to understand the things of life that seem confusing and chaotic. God’s direction guides our paths and helps us understand how to apply the wisdom he has given us.

Savor the relationship we have with him through Christ. This is one of the relationships where we can always feel loved and forgiven. There’s nothing we can do to lose those two things.

Practice what he teaches us. God’s way of life will feel upside-down in comparison to what we once knew. It may cause us to lose relationships and opportunities, but our ultimate goal is to honor God with what we say and do. The more we do it, the more we understand, and the more others might become curious enough to see what our relationship is all about.

Father God, thank you for always being with us, especially when tempted by the evil forces of this world. We understand that the source of life comes from your Word and your teachings. Please give us the wisdom, guidance, and direction needed to understand what your Word means for us and how to live it out in our world today. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.