City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

3 “And He humbled you and let you go hungry, and fed you with the manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, in order to make you understand that man shall not live on bread alone, but man shall live on everything that comes out of the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.”

Deuteronomy 8:3-4 NASB

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

John 4:31-34 NRSV

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Psalm 34:8a NASB

Exegesis

Most of us would have to admit that we find fasting difficult, counter-intuitive, and uncomfortable. Science and good sense teach us that the cells in our bodies require certain chemicals to be harvested from the things we consume. However, we normally don’t need science or good sense to tell us. Our bodies give us a healthy and powerful reminder that it’s time to eat. In compliance to the desires these sensations bring, we are rewarded with exquisite bursts of flavor, often followed by satisfying food-coma.

When Jesus had been fasting for 40 days, satan tried to stir his appetite, suggesting that Jesus could turn the nearby stones into bread. Jesus responded with a quote from this Deuteronomy passage: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but man shall live by everything that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” 

After their dramatic exodus from Egypt and the founding of the Sinai covenant with God, the Israelites lived during their wandering by eating manna, a substance that God laid on the dry ground like dew. Moses speaks these words after forty years of tough desert travel, but their original garments were still in good shape, and even their old were still fit for travel. God had supernaturally sustained them for His purposes and their ultimate good.

After a long morning’s journey, Jesus’ disciples returned from town, stunned to see their famous rabbi talking alone with a degenerate woman. They assumed he was hypoglycemic. “Here, Jesus, have some food.” Instead, Jesus tells them that doing God’s work is his food. God’s activity is nourishing.

For those alive in God’s kingdom, our lives are not sustained merely by fulfilling our bodily appetites. We are not satisfied merely by the chemicals in the things we consume. It is God Himself that sustains us – heart, soul, mind, and yes, even body. By working in cooperation with God in all that we do (and for His purposes), we are sustained by Him with all that we need.

When we fast, we are working in cooperation with God to train our natural bodies to rely on God’s power, not on material food, for nourishment and fulfillment. Indeed, when we eat, we eat as a result of His natural provision. When we don’t eat, we are sustained by His supernatural provision, the same way that the Israelite’s old garments were still like new, and their legs remained strong despite forty hard years in the desert.

Application

Dependence on God’s action in and through our lives, not performance of a task, is the outcome of all spiritual disciplines. As you fast, trust the Spirit of God to supernaturally sustain your body. When you feel hungry, may God quite literally satisfy you. He will, and your hunger will fade. As you continue to exercise these spiritual muscles, you may find that your hunger for food is replaced with a deep desire, a longing, to be with God.

Fasting and the many other disciplines are for ordinary saints, not for heroes. Many get discouraged because they fail to meet their goals. Remember the purpose of the disciplines is dependence, not success in a task. Failure is not sin, but the effort is wisdom.

You, like the Israelites and like Jesus in the wilderness, do not live on bread alone, but by the very Word of God. While you fast, allow it to speak and act in you – by scripture reading and memorization, through prayer and worship, in communion with other believers, and by acknowledging Him with you as you work and play.

Prayer

Thank you, heavenly Father, for sustaining my new life in an abundant, eternal way. As I seek to know you more today, may my humble efforts to seek you be met by your mighty power – to change my character according to your will. May the reign of King Jesus be fulfilled in me and in all areas of my influence. Amen.