MORE IMPORTANT THAN MEALS
The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. He
fasted, and I think we can safely assume prayed, for forty days. Next, the Bible
makes the completely obvious statement that after forty days of fasting, He was
hungry. Therefore, Satan attacks Him at the point of His most pressing need—His
extreme hunger. The rocks in the wilderness around the Jordan River look similar
to the round loaves of bread the people of Israel used as a staple food.
Therefore, Satan tempts Jesus to turn those rocks into the bread they resemble.
Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 as His reply. In fact, Jesus used scripture to
combat every temptation the devil threw at Him. This reminds me of a statement
made in Job 23:12, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary
food” (emphasis added). Do we view God’s word, the Bible, as more important
than our daily bread, our basic sustenance? I’m not talking more important than
dessert or eating at a nice restaurant. Is God’s word more important to us than
eating enough to survive? Of course, God intends for us to be physically nourished,
but He has provided what is necessary for spiritual nourishment as well. The
Bible equips us for everything God wants us to do, but how many of us are
malnourished when it comes to studying God’s word. Or do we read enough to
barely survive but neglect to “hide it in our hearts” (Psalm 119:11)? When
temptation hits, when the enemy attacks, does the Holy Spirit reach for His sword
and find the sheath empty? The Spirit
will bring to mind the scripture we have studied, meditated upon, and memorized
when we need it. But if we have never filled our mind with the sword of the
Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), we are presenting Him with an empty sheath where there
should be a sword. The word of God needs to be inside us, internalized, ready
for the Spirit’s use to encourage and exhort us. Dig in and feast on the Bible
today!
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