“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 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 4:3-4

The Lord sustained the life of Jesus through forty days of fasting. When the devil tempts Jesus to make bread out of stone, Jesus continues to trust. His Father and faces the temptation with Scripture.

His quote from Deuteronomy is not intended to show that there is equal need of physical nourishment as well as spiritual. If this was the case, then Jesus would have quoted Scripture and then eaten something. His point is that the word of God is the life of man, both natural and spiritual. God can and does sustain the lives of his children even through the deepest trials.

When faced with this kind of temptation we need to respond just like Jesus did. Our bodies are designed to need food. God designed our bodies so He knows what we need. Therefore, we need to trust God and rely on the promises of the Bible that he provides for those who seek His face.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 6:33

The current pandemic can serve to teach each of us to personally reflect on our level of commitment to putting the Lord first. (By the way, the devil watched how you reacted as well!)

Ask yourself the following questions:

Did I, as person who AM NOT in an at-risk category, attend church service in-person when the doors of the church were opened? If not, why? Did I at least actively participate by watching church live online?

Did I, as a person who IS in an at-risk category, actively seek out the online services my church provided and watch them in real time? If not, why? If I did, did I let the pastor know?

Has my church attendance been so sporadic in the past that this didn’t really feel any different?

Did I miss anything more than worship and the Lord’s people? If so, what does that tell me?

This trial has been quite small compared to the things which Christians faced in the first century. Perhaps this gave us an opportunity to see how we would do when true persecution comes.

Let us learn from the Savior’s example. We NEED the word of God. We need the fellowship of the saints.

We NEED church more than we need anything else.