But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

– Matthew 4:4

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

This verse should be many Christians’ motto. God’s word is the truth and the daily bread of our life. Because of God’s word, we are supplied and sated in our spirit; so that we have faith to stand testimony when we encounter failure and defeat, trials and refinement, just as God’s word says, “the Lord Jesus said, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,’ which means that, although man lives in a physical body, what gives him life, what allows his physical body to live and breathe, is not food, but all the words uttered by the mouth of God. On the one hand, man regards these words as truth. The words give him faith, make him feel that he can depend on God, that God is truth. On the other hand, is there a practical aspect to these words? (There is.) Why? Because the Lord Jesus has fasted for 40 days and nights and He is still standing there, still alive. Is this an illustration? The point here is that He has not eaten anything, any food for 40 days and nights. He is still alive. This is the powerful evidence behind His phrase. The phrase is simple, but, as far as the Lord Jesus is concerned, was His phrase taught to Him by someone else, or did He think of it only because of what Satan had said to Him? Think about it. God is truth. God is life. Was God’s truth and life a late add-on? Was it born of experience? (No.) It is innate in God, meaning that truth and life reside in God’s substance. Whatever befalls Him, what He reveals is truth. This truth, this phrase—whether its content is long or short—it can let man live, give him life; it can enable man to find, within itself, truth, clarity about life’s journey, and enable him to have faith in God. This is the source of God’s use of this phrase. The source is positive, so is this positive thing holy? (Yes.)” Thank God for bestowing word to us so that we can know God from His word and also understand the meaning of life and pursue the growth of life in God’s word every day.