Today’s Post By: Rae Lynn DeAngelis
“Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” (John 4:31-32)
I don’t know how you deal with the pressures of life, but one of the ways stress affects me is through my appetite. When I’m going through something really difficult, the last thing I want to do is eat.
God designed our bodies to require the physical nourishment food provides, but what happens when we just can’t eat?
During a particularly tough week, I learned what Jesus was talking about when He said He had food to eat they knew nothing about. When I couldn’t eat because of stress and turmoil, God sustained me with food for the soul. He filled my spirit and gave me strength to face each difficult moment, hour by hour, day by day.
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1-4)
Like He did with Jesus, sometimes the Spirit of God leads us into the desert for a period of time. I’m not sure what my time in the desert represented; but I can tell you how I was able to get through it.
I was fed and sustained by God.
“Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.” (1 Kings 17:2-4)
When we grow especially weary, God sends a friend to speak words of truth into our hearts. During a particularly difficult time, my sister-in-law called and read something from her bible study. She felt the Lord was prompting her to share it with me. The message she gave me was so clear. It was undeniably Him, speaking the words of encouragement I needed to keep pressing on.
Our times in the desert are no picnic for sure, but God will sustain us, care for us, and make us stronger than before. And when we are too weary to go on, God will send a raven to provide spiritual food until we are thriving on our own again.
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 9:10)
