Food for the soul - Why eat?

I have read this verse many times and most of the time it was a reinforcement of God's Word as a weapon against the fiery darts of the enemy. But today's reading was a strong knock on my heart and head.  Food is not just for consumption but a reminder that God's Word is essential for our personal well being.

We are well acquainted with this verse in Matthew 4:4 and often the citation is used in reference to using God's Word when facing temptations and challenges in life. And that's very true. David reenforces this truth:

  • Psalms 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

But Jesus was in fact quoting from an Old Testament verse in His encounter with Satan:

  • Deuteronomy 8:3 - He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Every thing God does has a purpose. Even the food we consume has a greater purpose, according to this verse.

Just look at this verse in Deuteronomy 8:3.

God fed the children of Israel in the wilderness with manna. It was something given to them as a gift. They did not toil or work for it. But it was given for a purpose.

While the physical food was necessary for their physical well being, it also served as a lesson, a reminder of the need for God's Word for our spiritual well being. This was the ultimate reason for consumption. 

I don't know about you, but in all my life, I never realised that when I am consuming food, it served a higher purpose. All my saying of grace was focussed on "Bless this food so that it will nourish our bodies." And sometimes I pray for the poor and needy. That's it. Never had the prayer been: "Thank you Lord for this food that reminds me of the great er need to read and live by your Word for my spiritual well-being". 

Two important words precede the feeding of manna. Humility and hunger.

Humility because there was no other source of food and the had to cry out to God. The humility resulted in hunger for food from God.

As I read these verses this morning, I realised the following:

My daily consumption of food must remind me of the great need for God's Word.

My attitude to God's Word should be one of humility - "I need your Word, Lord."

  • Psalm 25:9 - He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

My approach to God's Word should be one of hunger. David puts it succinctly in the following verses

  • Psalm 119:97: Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
  • Psalm 119:103: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
  • Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
  • Psalm 119:127-128: Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
May the daily consumption of food remind us od the greater need for the spiritual food.

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