Don't Go Off the Rails

Imagine for a moment that you're starving … I mean, you haven't eaten for weeks. You're on the brink, your body's shutting down. The suffering is unspeakable. So, what lengths would you go to, to get some food in your belly? Instinctively, the answer is that we'd do just about anything to get fed. Why wouldn't we? When Jesus had starved in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, the devil came and tempted him to end His suffering in His own strength. After all, argues the devil, You're the Son of God. You can do this, man! Question; in that same position, with the power to turn stones into bread, would you have followed the devil himself into that place? Why not? What's the harm? Our emotions are a huge part of who we are. We can't deny that. Sometimes they serve us incredibly well. Other times, they can get us into terrible trouble – especially, let me say, when we're suffering. An emotional decision made in the spur of the moment can bring a world of trouble crashing down on our lives. So, back to Jesus. How did He respond? Matthew 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (ESV) In other words, Jesus' suffering would end when God was good and ready, not when the devil said so. And the Word of God is what stops us going off the rails in those difficult moments, when we risk making bad emotional spur of the moment decisions. As someone once said, if you're not spiritually fed, then you'll be emotionally led. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.