Morning Meditations

Not Bread Alone

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (John 4:31-34 ESV)

Have you ever wondered how much sleep Jesus got or how much food he ate? We are a 3 meals a day (not including snacks), 7-8 hours of sleep society. It is natural then for us to assume that Jesus in His humanness lives the same way. 

In these verses I see an entirely different picture of the man Jesus. The physical man Jesus relied so much on the Word of God that he could actually stay the hunger of His human stomach. His disciples were as clueless as I am much of the time asking, "has anyone brought Him something to eat?"

I admit that often times my desire for physical nourishment and even physical luxuries has been stronger than my desire for the Word of God. How much of an example do you think Christ was setting for His disciples and for us? If we really treasured God's word as honey to the lips or priceless treasure like Proverbs describes would our desire be so great that physical desires would at least be under great control or even unnecessary in some cases?

Jesus gives another great example of this in His temptation in the wilderness. Remember that He fasted for 40 days and nights before the devil came to tempt Him. Of course this is a supernatural fast in length but I wonder how many of us would spend the entire 40 days longing for day 41 instead of growing in our desire for The Lord? 

I think we are missing the point and by missing the point we are missing the blessing of a change of diet from the world to the meat of every word from the Word of God. Lord help me to desire you so much, to desire your word so much and to desire to follow after Christ so much that my earthly desires "grow strangely dim in the light of Your glory and grace."