Man Does Not Live On Bread Alone

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 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.

Deuteronomy 8:1-3

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.

Deuteronomy 8:11-16

At the lowest point in our lives, we may be homeless, broken, and destitute. However, it is during these times that we turn to God.

The Israelites learned some valuable spiritual lessons when God allowed them to endure homelessness.

They learned God would take care of their needs, uncertainty, and danger. Moses reminded the Israelites that God had been taking care of them throughout their 40 years in the wilderness.

When we encounter desperate times, we can look for the spiritual lessons embedded in our difficulties – lessons that can help us rely on the One who causes all things to work together for our good and for His glory.

The clearest view of everything that happens comes from heaven.

Our Daily Bread – June 3, 2014