The Sustaining Power of His Word: Gospel Today Devotional - 9th November, 2023

The word of God is indeed quick, and powerful, and at the same time able to save, and reassure one of God's promises. Our Lord, and Saviour Jesus Christ had victory over the temptation Satan brought his way just because of the word. He did nothing but spoke the word. Even many times in scripture, it was recorded, and also the request was made that the Lord Jesus spoke only the word, and nothing else. Do you remember the Centurion, how that he told Jesus to speak the word only for his servant to be healed?

This is because there's authority in the word of the Lord, and all glory to God, we have been given his word that through it, we would overcome just as he overcame. There's power not just in the name of the Lord as whosoever shall call on his name shall be saved, but there's also power in his word; the power to sustain those who put their trust solely in him, and glory to the name of the Lord for his word which has been made readily available to us.

The Lord seeks to speak to you, and I today through his word, and I trust that he will bless us even as we consider this very important lesson today, and cause our hearts to give heed to that which he teaches us. Amen. The passage of scripture to be considered is seen below,

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".(Matthew 4:4).

The Bible in this chapter gives an account of Jesus' temptation, and I believe this is not new to us, seeing that we have considered the temptation of the Lord, Jesus in one of our series; overcoming temptation, and I trust you all were blessed. I hope you know that the truth embedded in God's word is inexhaustible, and so he keeps teaching things that are new even from the very familiar things we know. All we need do is open our hearts to receive that which he has for us.

The Lord Jesus had just finished fasting, and was indeed hungry, and at any slight opportunity, someone should have eaten, right? But here, we have to learn from our perfect example. The devil had told him to turn stone to bread if he was indeed the Son of God. While the Lord Jesus could have accepted, and done it for he had the power to, he gave his response as seen in the passage of scripture above. That the aim was not to turn stone to bread, not that it was an issue for him, but that even bread isn't that which man needs for true spiritual sustenance in the Lord. Even if he had turned stone to bread, he could have only satisfied his hunger, and possibly sustain him for a while.

But the Lord Jesus saw the shortcoming in this, and had to pass this message across; that what sustains the man, that is, the one who is spiritual is the word. Bread is to the body as the word is to the spirit, and for the spirit man to be nourished, he has to feed himself not just with bread which can only sustain the body but also with the word which is able to sustain the spirit. The word of God sustains, it keeps, it secures. The question however today is; do you live there onto according to his word? Is his word enough for you? God's word sustains, how much of it do you know? How much of it do you have abiding in you? How often do you feed yourself with the word? The Lord help us ponder on these things such that we get to live not just by bread alone, but by his unchanging, unfailing word, and that we become sustained by it. Amen.

Thought for the day: 

The word of God sustains. How much of it do you know, and have?

Gospel Today is a comforting, exhorting, edifying and inspiring devotional published by the Delightsome Land Christian Ministry. For questions, enquiries/testimonies, please call/WhatsApp: 08174915361, 08161655758 or Email: [email protected].