"…He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:3).
God led the Children of Israel into the wilderness where they lived for forty years. From Israel's experience we can learn some of God's purposes for leading us into what we could call our "wilderness times."
God uses wilderness times to increase our appetite for His Word.
"People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). It's unfortunate that it takes tough times to help us develop an appetite for the Word of God, isn't it?
The prophet Jeremiah declared, "When I discovered your words, I devoured them, and they are my joy and my heart's delight" (Jeremiah 15:16).
Whether we know it or not, every believer is hungry for the Word of God. One of the reasons some Christians are not living in victory is because they need to eat spiritual food! Many Christians are fainting and caving into temptation because their spiritual "blood sugar" is low. What they need to do is eat!
Job said, "…I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food" (Job 23:12). He's saying "I'd rather be in Your Word than eat."
(Commentary Mark Martin)
God led the Children of Israel into the wilderness where they lived for forty years. From Israel's experience we can learn some of God's purposes for leading us into what we could call our "wilderness times."
God uses wilderness times to increase our appetite for His Word.
"People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). It's unfortunate that it takes tough times to help us develop an appetite for the Word of God, isn't it?
The prophet Jeremiah declared, "When I discovered your words, I devoured them, and they are my joy and my heart's delight" (Jeremiah 15:16).
Whether we know it or not, every believer is hungry for the Word of God. One of the reasons some Christians are not living in victory is because they need to eat spiritual food! Many Christians are fainting and caving into temptation because their spiritual "blood sugar" is low. What they need to do is eat!
Job said, "…I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food" (Job 23:12). He's saying "I'd rather be in Your Word than eat."
(Commentary Mark Martin)