TODAY’S VERSE:

Matthew 4:4 “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘’Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”.’ ”

Have you ever heard someone say “you are what you eat”? That is a funny thought, huh? What does it even mean? If we eat chocolate cake every day, do we actually turn into a piece of cake? LOL! No, of course not, it is just something people say to teach you the importance of eating healthy.

Our bodies need specific amounts of water, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to work at its best. If we do not get the proper nutrition, our bodies do not run like they should and we often get weak and even sick. On top of that, our health does not just depend on food and water. Today’s verse tells us that we are to be “living on” every word God speaks. Hmmmm... how do we do that?

John 6:33,35 “’For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’.”

John 4:34 “’My food’, said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’.”

These verses tell us that Jesus, His Word, and obedience to God’s will are our food and drink. This seems rather confusing. God does not want us to eat the pages of our Bible, right? No, but He does want us to read it and obey what we learn from it. God is using the analogy (example) of our bodies so we can understand what He means. See, God is the smartest person in the Universe and He has to explain things to us in ways that we can understand. We are nowhere near as smart as He is and we do not think like Him, so He has to make it simple for us.

Isaiah 55:8-9 “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways’, declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’.”

God wants us to know that our relationship with Him, including praying, reading our Bibles, and obeying Him, is as necessary for our life as eating and drinking. Just like we make time to eat and even look forward to it, we are to make time for Him and look forward to it even more.

God gave us our bodies and He expects us to take care of them. We do this by drinking plenty of water, eating nutritious foods, exercising, and getting enough sleep.  If we take care of our bodies, we can use them to serve Him.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Just remember that taking care of ourselves does not stop with nutrition and exercise;

1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

God has blessed us with this life, let us show our gratitude by living it for Him!