Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
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. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
– Deuteronomy 8:1-5
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
– Matthew 4:4
Devotion
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3 when the devil tempted him to turn stones into bread. There are many of us who think that the purpose of life is mostly to satisfy our own appetites. If we can just earn enough money to eat, dress nicely and be entertained, we think we are really living the good life. But these things do not satisfy our deepest longings. At the end of the day (or life), these things leave us dissatisfied and empty. Moses addresses this issue straight on when he says that real life comes from total commitment to God, the one who created life itself. This life requires sacrifice, discipline and hard work, and that’s why most people never experience it.
The Big Question
Can you recall a time when you experienced God’s hand of discipline? If so, how did you feel at that time? Did this cause you to question your faith or did it strengthen your spiritual walk?
Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.