Did you ever notice how hard it is to be mentally alert when you are really hungry? Nutritionists and educators have known for years that if a person is going to be sharp mentally, he needs a good breakfast to start the day and a proper lunch to keep him his keenest. Most of us are quick to complain if dinner is a few minutes late. If we have to miss just one meal, we are inconsolable.

Though physically we all need food to nourish our bodies, but let us turn our attention for a few minutes regarding our spiritual growth. In the Bible, we could take the great example of our Savior Jesus Christ after 40 days of fasting. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil. During that period, He had nothing to eat. The Bible says, “He afterward hungered” (Luke 4:2). We cannot begin to fathom the hunger the Savior felt after not eating anything for 40 days. The physical condition of Jesus must have been extremely poor following such a fast. The fatigue, the constant desire for food must have been nearly unbearable.

Knowing His hunger, Satan told Jesus to use His Divine power to make stones become bread (Luke 4:3). He resisted this temptation, as He did all others, by finding strength in the word of God. Scripture was His source of strength and should be ours today. It supplies us with all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) and furnishes us completely (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Jesus relied totally upon it. “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). Notice the attitude demonstrated by Christ in His response to Satan. Even though He greatly hungered, He recognized that the fleshly, material things of life are secondary to things spiritual in nature and secondary to doing the will of God.

 Jesus preached this attitude to the multitude and told them not to be overly concerned with things temporal and material but to seek first the kingdom of God and all these would be provided (Matthew 6:24-33). A person’s first concern must be to do the will of God. He must put material things in the background. Yet, many people reverse this order. Most people spend their lives solely in pursuit of things physical and never give any attention to the Word.

Sometimes the material things start having a lot more prominence in their lives. Though once Christ and His Word were most important to them, now they are not. To be successful in life and pleasing to Him, be concerned with doing the will of God. Put material things second. Do not live by “bread alone,” but by the Word of God