Man shall not live by bread alone

Matthew 4:4

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

This passage lays out for us the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. It is of great importance to note that Christ was led of the Spirit into the wilderness. This means that our wilderness wanderings and our desert experiences may not be as desolate as we once imagined. They are not meaningless. Rather, they are full of purpose and plan for the saints of God. If we had no wilderness experiences, we would not learn lesson that can only be learned in the wilderness. When the Lord takes away the natural nourishment and daily luxuries of life, we begin to depend on something more transcendent, eternal, and heavenly. For man shall not live by bread alone! We must have bread. But that is not all there is! This earth and its sources of strength, energy, and vitality are only temporary. And furthermore, they are only physical. There is no spiritual value or continual sustainment in earthly bread. It is exceedingly momentary. Therefore, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord shall man live.

Here, the Devil thought that he could deceive and tempt Christ into turning the stones into bread because of His great physical hunger. But the Lord would not bend to such a temptation. He looked beyond the tangible needs of life to the intangible needs. He looked past the earthly concerns to the heavenly necessities. He looked beyond the transient to the everlasting. He stayed not on the terrestrial, but longed for the celestial. And dear friend, what do you long for? What is giving life and vitality to you this day? May it be the living and eternal Word of God! Therefore, when the Devil tempts you this day to focus your eyes on earthly needs, let us look to the heavenly. For man shall not live by bread alone!

And, my brother or sister, this verse emphasizes for us the great hunger that we have, noticed or unnoticed, for the Word of God. For man shall not live by bread alone! He must have the Word of God! It is truly essential. The intake of the spiritual is just as integral to our spiritual health as morsels of meat are to our physical health and wellbeing. We are in dire need of this great nourishment. Do not go without it! Do not ever think that you can survive one day on the digested food that you have taken yesterday. New and fresh food is needed today! And it must not be a snack or a small bite. But, oh my friend, it must be a sumptuous meal! Why should it be less! For it is all for our taking! It is all spread before us! If we open the door, then we may sup with Him, and He will sup with us. Why would we refuse readily available and amply provided nourishment? Why would we walk away from the table that has been set before us? It is only our choice. But, dear friend, make the right choice. Choose to feast on the words that proceed out of the mouth of God. For it is not bread alone, but it is every word of God which is the means by which man shall truly live!

“Dear Lord, we come to you today knowing and understanding that our greatest need is not anything we can acquire in this temporal world. Our need is Thee! Our need is Thy powerful Word! Our need is to feast on every word of God this day! Help us to do this, and to do it every day. For it will be the greatest and primary source of our life! Thank you for this great life-giving source, and we praise you for this wonderful spring of everlasting nourishment and strength. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”