He . . . [fed] you with manna . . . to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

— Deuteronomy 8:3

When I was a little girl, my family often visited the small Polish community of Hamtramck, near Detroit, on Saturdays. We kept our windows down on a nice sunny day while looking for a good parking space. The wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread filled the air. Bread is delicious, filling, and nutritious, but not enough to sustain our body, mind, soul, and spirit.

While the Israelites were in the wilderness for forty years, they were hungry for physical food. God fed them manna from heaven daily to teach them that people do not live “on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Manna was unlike anything the people had eaten before.

Many years later, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days, he was hungry also. The devil tempted him to tell a stone to become bread. But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone’” (Luke 4:4).

How can we put a good plan in place for renewal and restoration in life? We can satisfy our hunger by reading the Bible daily, worshiping the Lord with his people each week, and also meeting for a weekly study to grow in knowledge and understanding. We might also find that we need more of the Word at different times of the day.

Ask God’s Spirit to guide you, and grow!

Lord, guide us to read and meditate on your Word, growing in the grace, knowledge, and love of Jesus. Amen.