New? January 18 Devotional
January 18, 2025
DEUTERONOMY 9:9-10 | 9 When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 And the Lord gave me the two stone tablets written with the finger of God; on them were all the words that the Lord had spoken to you at the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly.
MATTHEW 4:2 | 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished.
The Israelites knew how to connect eating and faith. Their holy festivals were feasts and they celebrated material goods as divine gifts to be enjoyed and shared. Similarly, Jesus embraced many, especially those usually excluded, at kingdom meals. There will be more on these themes next week. Here in our passages today we see another dimension of the biblical attitude to food—fasting.
Moses fasts on the Mountain of Revelation as he meets with God, for 40 days and nights, as does Jesus prior to His confrontation with the Devil in the wilderness. Fasting is not a denial of the good gift of sustenance. It is a way to ensure we are not driven by our appetites. Time that would otherwise be spent eating is dedicated to prayer and we allow ourselves to focus on the spiritual food God provides through His presence and His word.
Do you ever struggle to discipline your appetites?
Gracious God,
Feed my soul and help me to ensure my body does not get in the way.
Amen.
