Fasting
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. ”But He answered and said, “It is written,‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:1-4 NKJV
Forty days of fasting
I can only imagine how fine tuned Jesus’ connection with God was as a result of the long fast He had completed.
But afterward…
He was hungry.
And the enemy came. Doesn’t He always? When we’re in need ~ in need of sleep, food, emotional support, or spiritual strengthening that snake always surfaces. His radar is alert to our physical, emotional, and spiritual condition, and he uses those moments to get a foothold in our lives.
But the enemy miscalculated Jesus. He underestimated the strength in Jesus’ connection with the Father. Jesus stood toe to toe with His enemy and fought back with the Word of God. Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 He fired a powerful missile out of the archive of the Old Testament reminding Satan that His primary sustanence was not physical food. His primary sustenance was the Word of God.
Jesus had a physical need when He came off His fast, but Satan’s temptations were quickly dismissed because Jesus’ spirit man was strong. There was no hesitancy in His rebuttal. Jesus didn’t linger in the sin option Satan presented. With a strong resolve Jesus used the most powerful arsenal against Satan ~ God’s Word.
Right now a leather bound Bible sits on my desk beside me. In it are 66 books written by God Himself. Every chapter, every verse is everything to me. When I ingest God’s Word, life is breathed into my spirit and the broken pieces of me are made whole. I am nourished. I am refined. I am strengthened. And when I couple the Word of God with fasting and prayer, my spirit is empowered to face life victoriously. Fasting, praying, and indulging in God’s Word also creates the sweetest intimacy in our hearts. Knowing Jesus in a tangible way makes all of life meaningful. Truly there is nothing better on earth than having a rich relationship with Jesus! He is everything!
“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”Psalm 34:8