October 22, 2009 - Matthew 4:4

Enjoy our guest writer's devotional today!

God’s Word to us: Be Healthy!

Matthew 4:4: Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

It certainly has been an unusual fall season, at least here in New England! It seems as if summer had barely arrived before the leaves starting changing color. And while we still have green leaves on some trees, the first snow has begun to fall! Given such shifting weather patterns, we considered yesterday that much like our bodily immune system, we have a spiritual immune system that needs to be in tact before such seasons come upon us unexpectedly. Much like if we keep our bodies healthy, with diet, good rest, and exercise, so too if we properly maintain and care for our spiritual man, we will be able to weather any storm! And looking at Eph 6:10-18 we saw that God has already provided us with all we need in order to be spiritually strong and with the "know how” to stay healthy.
Today, let us consider the most important aspect to our staying spiritually healthy: Living on every word that comes from God. When Jesus was in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil, he said, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Mt 4:4). At this point it was already the “cold season!” Jesus was at his weakest point having fasted for 40 days, susceptible to great sickness! How did he get through it? Well – he had his spiritual immune system in tact, impenetrable to the devil’s relentless attempt to squeeze the life out of him. Saints, we too were created to be impenetrable to the devil’s schemes.
But how did Jesus get such a strong immune system? It began and continued daily because he was living on “every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This reality of hearing from God cannot be overestimated! We were all created to feed off of the living Word of God. Before Jesus entered into the cold season, he nourished himself upon the life-giving, personally tailored, word from the Father to him. “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22) It was feeding off that word daily that enabled Jesus to withstand the cold season of the wilderness, and the blizzard of the Cross – and to break forth into a never ending season of summer. (Sorry for all you winter lovers :) - God still really loves us to enjoy skiing and the like!)
As much as we vitally need breath, food, and water to live – those things actually are not good enough! Instead, the source of life is every word that proceeds from the God of life – straight to the deep place of longing in our spiritual man! Bodily health is important as we know, and God doesn’t desire us to be out of shape, to be in pain, or to be sick. But how much more important is it that our spiritual man is healthy and strong! If we are strong there, truly, and I emphasize truly!, we can endure anything with great joy, with great victory. Oh saints, that this would truly apprehend us and re-define our perception of life and reality. Yes, yes, creation is good! But oh! How much better that we come into vital communion with the One that our innermost being truly longs for! It is only then that we can truly live, truly overcome, and enjoy life and steward all that God has given us. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3).
My prayer for each of us is that God would speak to us today and we would choose to live on that Word. He knows your needs, and he cares for them all. He knows right where you are at – at this very moment. But truly the greatest need is to hear personally from our Father - and to walk in accordance with that word. May he re-boost your immune system today by his personally tailored word to you, so that you may weather all of life’s storms and enter into the larger-than-life destiny that he has uniquely created you for. Amen.