“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.’” —John 6:32-36
“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?’ Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.’” – John 4:10-15
I normally don’t start a devotion with two separate verse references, but as I was considering one – the second came to mind. They are in a way – one in the same. On the one hand Jesus was speaking to people who had received bread and fish to eat and sought Jesus out as a means to satisfy their need for food. Very often God does something in the physical that helps us, but the real point is not physical, it’s spiritual. God had sent manna to Israel while they were in the desert. To satisfy their physical need for food, yes, but more that they would see that He is the provider – Jehovah Jireh. Jesus fed the five thousand. It was a miracle – just like the manna – but putting food in empty bellies was not really the point.
The woman at the well. She went to the well every day to get water. She went in the heat of the day, when no one else was around – out of shame I think – but Jesus offered her Living Water (like manna) so she would thirst no more. He revealed her secrets to her – her sin – it was a miracle. She didn’t want to have to go to the well every day and thought the living water would fix that. But quenching a parched throat was not really the point.
It is in our nature to go to the physical – the natural first. To even see God’s provision as merely a means to satisfy the flesh. We consider possession, wealth, freedom from illness, relational problems as God’s blessing. The only thing we see as spiritual is the fact that we are saved. Having “made the cut” we refocus on our natural life. Jesus spoke to the people and the woman about a spiritual reality. That He was the Blessing from Heaven.
“You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.” – Nehemiah 9:15
Nehemiah was referring to the nation of Israel as they wandered in the desert. God provided then and He has provided for you and me now. Not so much in the natural sense. He has given us a place in heaven. The natural is merely a reflection of the spiritual. Our bodies need to be sustained to prevail. But we will walk this land for 70 or 80 years and then these jars of clay will return to the dust from which they were formed. As much as we fret over these bodies of ours, it is our spiritual nature that will endure.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” – Matthew 5:6
Trusting in God and focusing on eternal things is liberating. We still live these natural lives of ours, but our confidence is not in our circumstances or natural health and wealth. Our satisfaction should not be dependent upon what the world has to offer – wood, hay and stubble – it will all be consumed by fire one day. But we, who are spiritual – born again, yet trust in the natural anyway don’t we. It is our “go-to”. Our first choice.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” – 1 John 2:15
We must not deceive ourselves. We can't love both. We will love one hate the other. (that is in the Bible – I will let you find it) If we place our confidence in the natural – God must, be definition take the second seat. I am certain you will mentally balk at that notion, but the proof is how we live our lives. It is a common struggle – depending on the things of the world comes naturally – but that was our old life – but I want to encourage you to resist it - abandon it - lay it down and fix your eyes and your heart on Jesus – Who is our righteousness. The Bread of Life who gives living water.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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