Essential Food for Thought

Do you have a healthy appetite? I do! Although, over the years, as I get older, my personal preferences have changed. My aging injured body is not so forgiving anymore – my muscle alarms painfully prompt me that I must make daily healthier choices to avoid the unwelcome consequences of appeasing my undisciplined taste buds. Making better choices involves immense restraint and resolve – especially when I am hungry.

More importantly, when I neglect to daily feed my soul with the spiritual food of God’s Word, or if I consider it fast food, I experience a similar consequence in my spirit, and when prolonged, it affects my whole being. Scripture frequently equates human sustenance with spiritual food – reminding me that there is a divinely designed intrinsic connection between the human body, soul, and spirit. Why is it so easy to neglect to feed my spirit?

In Matthew 4, Jesus alludes to the Torah book he quotes the most – Deuteronomy. He reiterates to us, his followers, that life cannot be sustained by nourishing the body alone – emphasizing God’s Word as the authoritative enduring nourishment of every believer. Remarkably, during his 40-day wilderness hunger and temptation experience, Jesus esteems God’s Word over food – disciplining his body to prioritize God’s Word as his primary source of sustenance. Ultimately, Jesus submits to his Father’s Word, and as Christ-followers, we must do likewise.

Daily, I resolve that I cannot treat time in God’s presence with his Word like a fast food drive-thru. Following Jesus’ model, I strive to ensure my spirit thrives over my body and mind by studying, praying, fasting, listening, and obeying in his Spirit's power. Consequently, I sense my relational intimacy with God becoming deeper. In my mind’s eye, hungry and thirsty, I humbly sit at Jesus' feet – considering his counsel as divine food for thought. His words instill life, moment by moment – spiritual manna with supernatural sustenance – more gratifying than any earthly food I may enjoy.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that your Word sustains me every day. Create in me an insatiable hunger and thirst for your Word and will. Help me to nurture my spirit and to spend quality time in your presence with your Word so I may genuinely reflect you within my sphere of influence.

Throughout This Day: Reflect on God’s Word as spiritual sustenance. Read Deuteronomy 8 and Jesus’ wilderness experience – contemplating the command, challenge, and consequence of daily living by every word that comes from the mouth of God.