Did you know that humans can survive for 45-61 days without eating? Wow! Mahatma Gandi, at one time, went for 21 days without food, only taking sips of water the whole time. Survival dramatically changes, though, when we talk about water, for humans can only survive for about seven days without it. The simple fact is, for the physical person to live and be productive in life, they need to nourish the body.
It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:4
I shared this verse with someone just the other day and it has been on my mind ever since. You may remember, Jesus quotes this verse as He was being tempted by Satan after fasting in the wilderness for “forty days and forty nights” (Matthew 4:2). Because of His humanity, Jesus was very hungry and so, Satan said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matthew 4:3). It is at this time that Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3 to fight against the temptation. If you recall, in a lesson just a couple weeks ago, while speaking of how God will use adversity (tribulations, trials) to help us to grow and develop hope, I spoke of this text and would like once again to revisit it. Listen to what Jesus quoted from.
So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed
you with manna which you did not know nor did your
fathers know, that He might make you know that man
shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every
word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3
There are a number of maladies attributed to the malnutrition of the human body: changes that seek to inform us that something is wrong, that someone is in need of sustenance. This caused me to think about the spiritual man and his or her need for spiritual nourishment. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). As we saw above in Matthew 4:4, there is also the awareness that God’s word plays a vital role in our spiritual nourishment. So, here is a question to consider, “What signs occur in your life that say you are spiritually malnourished?” Less time reading the word? Less time in prayer? Less time involved in spiritual transformation? I suspect the list could go on. The point is simple, spiritual malnutrition can be very hazardous.
The solution is simple in words, stay close to the source that can feed you spiritually. Stay close to Jesus through prayer, study and fellowship. Stay close to Jesus through service in His church, the kingdom. If we do so, He will always make sure we are nourished. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 6:6).
Dennis
