Every week, as I prepare my mind to write this
blog, I ask the Lord to show me what He wants to share. Of course, I have my
calendar of ideas but most of the time those get postponed. As the week
develops I begin to see and hear a theme. I also get some pretty interesting
confirmations.
Like this photo in
today’s blog. Yes, I snapped it while
driving, but in rush hour traffic on the 405 in California we stop and go a
lot. I was stopped for this photo; sort
of…. Anyway, I glanced over and saw this truck with a scripture on the back. I
read it and thought to myself, “Oh, cool”.
Then God spoke up saying, “Hello?
Cindy? Let’s pay attention - This is for the blog this week!” I’ve never prayed for traffic to stop, but God was faithful
and allowed me to get His snapshot for the week.
This verse is found
twice in the Bible. First, in Deuteronomy
8 verse 3 spoken by Moses to the people of God when he presented the commandments
from the mountain. “He humbled
you, causing you to hunger and then fed 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.”
So many times
when we lack something we seek an answer with ourselves or with friends. God is
telling us here that He wants us to depend on Him. The verse begins with humbling.
Aren’t most of the times we are seeking help or answers a situation that can
feel humiliating or humbling? Then the first mentions hunger. So now we are
emotionally stressed and physically uncomfortable. Lastly the verse tells us, our condition is
not anything we’ve known before or others have had to deal with before. Truly we are in a desperate state. Our answer
in today’s modern world? Of course, the
internet. We tweet about it, post on
facebook about it, and snapchat to send up virtual flares all in the attempt to
solicit some answers for our plight.
But let’s face it, are we really seeking answers or just trying to get
some sympathy? People online are more than willing to give you advice. And,
although some can be sound, some can also just sound good.
When I
pondered about people with words of wisdom I was led to the story of Job. He had a couple of close friends that attempted
to help. But God was not happy with how these men tried to help Job out of his
desperate situation. The website
gracethrufaith.com gives a very nice summary of God’s anger at the friends.
What upset God about Job’s two friends
and Job himself, is they misrepresented Him completely. They argued with Job
from the humanist position based on human experience, human tradition and human
merit. They were false in their logic and wrong in their conclusions. They believed
that man must do things to earn God’s favor and therefore suffering is a sign
of God’s displeasure.
Eliphaz believed that God was
punishing Job for not doing enough good, and Bildad thought Job was just
whining because he wanted His wealth back. By justifying himself, Job was
condemning God as being unjust.
It’s important to remember that all
three men were wrong in their arguments. It wasn’t until Elihu came along that
we begin to learn of God’s true nature. In Job chapter 34 he confirmed the
Lord’s inability to do wrong or pervert justice, and in Job chapter 35 Elihu
said that our good works don’t help God at all and our sins don’t cause Him
loss. They only affect us and those around us.
The second time this verse is found in the Bible, Moses was quoted by
Jesus when He was tested in the wilderness as noted in Matthew 4 verses 1-4. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones
to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall
not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Here, Jesus is
dealing with a battle with satan and he turns to the word of God to shut up the
devil. He quotes a book He studied as a child in the temple. Jesus was faced with being humbled in the
wilderness, hungry, and alone. He fought it with the word of God. Also, Jesus
confronted a spiritual challenge posed by satan – “If you are the son of God….” Low blow satan! Thankfully, Jesus was secure in His position
and He knew it was useless to get into a debate with satan. Jesus trusted God and knew nothing beats
playing the word of God card. The disciple Paul encouraged Timothy and his
church in the verse 1 Timothy 1:4 by saying, “Don't let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and
spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which
don't help people live a life of faith in God.”
Whether we are
seeking answers or called to assist a friend with advice, these scenarios
remind us not to seek or accept words that do not line up with the very
character of God. That character is found in His word. We are also encouraged to trust God through
faith, that we are secure in Him and He will supply our needs. Here are two
more verses that we can keep forefront in our minds,
“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will
find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29
“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to
me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
**Lord, forgive
me for giving advice based on my own knowledge and forgive me for accepting
words from others not based on your word. Please give me ears of faith to hear
your voice. Lead me to your word more each day as I seek wisdom. I hunger for
your righteousness and long to be satisfied by your provisions as the true food
for my soul. **
Here is a link to see the band Mercy
Me in concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dOb6ub-NLWA
