But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4 NKJV)
But seek first
the
The question which Satan put to our Lord has to be settled in every life. Where does bread and bread getting come in? Is it to be our first consideration or the last? According to Satan's way of looking at life, the bread question is paramount; according to Christ, secondary. Have you ever seriously considered which policy is yours, and what you would do if you had to choose in any supreme crisis? This temptation which came to our Lord occurs to us all; sooner or later, whether on the lone mountain side, or in the crowded thoroughfares of life, the Devil comes to us with the suggestion that we must live, and in the last resort we must make or get our bread, leaving considerations of purity, truth, honoring God and eternity to come in second place!
At every
important turning point in the history of the inner life these two methods are
suggested: Satan says: "Make these stones into bread"; Christ says:
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by the word of God." We must
choose between God and mammon. We are liable to attacks of hunger in various
parts of our nature. Satan bids us snatch it; for love, we are tempted to
gratify it apart from God; for knowledge, we are apt to seek it in ways that
are not illumined by the light of eternal truth.
God, who
gave us these strong appetites and desires, knows that we need food. The body
is more than meat, and if He gave the one, He is responsible for meeting the
other. The blessed angels of His help are even now on their way to you, and
have been commissioned to bring with them supplies for every need in your life.
Do not take your life out of God's hands and act at the dictate of passion!
Throw all the responsibility on Him; they cannot be ashamed that wait for Him.
Remember the angel that prepared the meal for Elijah in the desert, and the
breakfast that our Lord Himself prepared for His tired and hungry friends. If
you will dare to trust and wait for Him even though there be but a step between
you and death, He will supply all your need, according to His riches in glory.
"Trust in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and verily
you shall be fed."
PRAYER
Give us
grace to seek first Your kingdom and its righteousness, in the sure and certain
faith that all else shall be added unto us. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.
God's Daily Promise
Promise #267:
I will not reject the sacrifice of a broken spirit and a contrite
heart.
Psalm 51:17 (WEB)
The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit.
A broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
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