When you are hungry, what do you crave the most? Have you ever eaten to curb the hunger but then felt unsatisfied? Just filling the gap with any ol’ thing that might be available can fill the space but not bring the fulfillment needed.
As this is so regarding our physical appetite and our nourishment, it is also true spiritually. How many are feeding their heart and mind with the smorgasbord of junk the world offers?
Prior to the beginning of His ministry, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness. To no surprise, scripture tells us He was hungry (Matthew 4:2). Then, with the first temptation presented by the tempter, we read, “And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But He answered, ‘It is written, man shall not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the word of God.'” (Matthew 4:3-4, ESV).
In resisting the temptation, Jesus focused the attention on the truth of scripture drawn from Deuteronomy 8:3. Though Jesus had the power since we know He multiplied the loaves for the multitudes in Matthew 14 and 15, and it was not wrong to nourish the body, Jesus made it clear His focus was on higher things than merely the flesh. What was His true food? It was to do the work of Him that sent Him and to accomplish the work of that divine mission. So we know this from John 4:34 when Jesus talked with His disciples following His encounter with the woman at the well. It was not merely about satisfying the flesh and that ought to be the focus we maintain as well.
Since we were created as more than merely physical beings, we need more than physical food to duly sustain our lives. Therefore let us not neglect the feeding of our soul but set aside daily time for the word. Knowing God’s word will serve to direct our life away from temptation as well as bring sustaining sustenance to our inner being, may we thank God for the daily direction and nourishment His word provides!
HAVE A GREAT DAY remembering the SOUL FOOD!
Carl
