“Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4NIRV
“ If our physical bodies are affected by bad ingredients in our food, then our spirits can be affected by taking in words that are not aligned with the Word of God.”
In the 1930’s, an American nutritionist by the name of Victor Lindlhar coined the term, “ You are what you eat” to describe his belief that what we eat controls our health. What I am sure was a revolutionary thought then, is a widely accepted claim now. What we put in our bodies does affect us. We can’t expect to eat double cheeseburgers, milkshakes, french fries and cookies every day without expecting an expansion in our midsections! By the same token, studies are finding that toxins, added sugars and preservatives in our foods may predispose the body to be susceptible to certain diseases and conditions. This is the same spiritually as well.
We are triune beings. We are spirits (our hearts, and eternal state and who we truly are), we have souls (our thoughts, will, and emotions), and we live in a physical body. Just like our physical bodies feed on natural food to be sustained, our spirits are designed to eat as well. What do our spirits eat? Jesus in Matthew 4:4 said that we must not live only on bread, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Our spirits are designed to feed on words.
Ideally, to have a healthy spirit, we should be feeding on God’s word. How do we do this? By reading and studying the word of God, by hearing the Word of God in sound teachings and sermons and in worship music embedded with the Word of God. We are not designed to get a once a week, drive by meal in an hour service and expect it to last us all week. We don’t do this to our physical bodies and we shouldn’t do this to our spirits. Some of us are running around with malnourished spirits, wondering why we keep losing to the enemy when he attacks.
If our physical bodies are affected by bad ingredients in our food, then our spirits can be affected by taking in words that are not aligned with the Word of God. We must guard our hearts and minds. Take an inventory of what you have been feeding your spirit. Is it the news, social media, or the negative comments of others? Matthew 15:18 MSG says: “But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart.” In other words, whatever we take in is what will eventually come out of us. Make a decision today to feed on the Word of God. After all, we are what we eat.