And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. – ( Deuteronomy 8:3 )

This morning in meditation I was thinking on Psalms 1 and what it says about the man who makes the word of God his delight.

It says, in essence, that he shall be like a tree that is planted by the rivers of water…. (the result of meditating in the law of God day and night). 

His roots shall go down deep, and he will be both fruitful and able to stand through the storms and difficulties of life. 
God’s word has that effect on all those who believe it and stand upon it.

Yet, sadly, we are living in a time in which men are becoming so dependent (more than ever) upon so many other means of surviving and sustaining ourselves (by ourselves) …. But we were never meant to be independent of our Creator.

We are not independent creatures.
In the wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel, one of God’s greatest tasks was to lead the people to understand, and know, that they were not to depend upon themselves, but upon Him. 

One of the primary means He used to show them such was by way of trials and hardship. The text says, “He humbled them, and allowed them to hunger and fed them with manna….. to teach them that man shall not live by bread alone, But by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

In recent months, many of us have endured some afflictions, hardships, and inconveniences in one way or another. Life has become “different”, to say the least. 

But, in the midst of what we’ve endured, have we come to the realization that we are truly needy and dependent?
Have we trusted in the means, that we’ve devised, to alleviate the ill effects of what confronts us?

Or, have we resolved, that, it is Not By Bread Alone….  But by every word that God has spoken?
His Word is our only Hope.

Father, help us to learn and embrace what you worked to teach the children of Israel. That we don’t live by bread alone, but By your Living Word.

In The Love Of God,
Pastor Lowe