Comforter & Sustainer.

Two words that describe the Lord.

During this fasting time for Harvest Cry I've realized they're two words I often place as the identity of the food I consume each day.

Food is great and I am so glad (as I think about things like mexican food and thai food) that God created us to need food to survive... His design is so good... but there needs to be a shift in the way I think, or a refocusing of some sort, when food is more than just food to me. 

Especially when it becomes what I rely on, what I trust to be comforted, what I trust to be sustained.

In the book of Matthew, chapter 4, Jesus was in "a place of extreme hunger" after fasting for forty days and forty nights. The devil took advantage of that hunger as he tested Jesus. In the first test, as the Message Bible puts it, the devil said, "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread."

Verse four states: Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: 

"It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth."

or as we've more often heard it:

‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

There's a bigger lesson in this than food. 

This is my prayer tonight:

That as long as I live I would never rely..

... on money, more than on God, for my family.

... on myself, more than on God's equipping, for ministry.

... on what I can see, rather than on faith, for following God in obedience.

... on what I can do, rather than on God's pure and faithful love, for the way I know He thinks about me.

Life holds so many opportunities for us to choose new things to be satisfied by or new things to rely on. Sometimes that's our own understanding... or maybe it's a place of financial security or social status. But the Word of God is what breathes life into us. Real, lasting, joy-filled life. Life that is not conquered by hunger or fear or lies of the enemy. 

This is the life that belongs to us. Praise the Lord. 

Man should not live on bread alone... but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

(Life Formations)