Contemplative Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 8:3 (New Living Translation)

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

God had given his people manna for 40 years. That was the food that sustained them in a desert where there was no food, let alone enough to feed a million mouths.

How did God describe this food? “every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

We live by God’s revelation to us. Food, shelter, health—they are all mere adornments to the words of God. What God speaks, that is what holds us and everything together.

Simple idea. Almost impossible to fully understand. Even more difficult to accept enough to make it the center of my life. Please God, help me in my unbelief.