“‘他苦炼你 … 使你知道人活着不是单靠食物，乃是靠耶和华口里所出的一切话。’” - 申 8:3
当我怀孕时，我的胃口时常会在瞬间改变，从没有兴趣吃东西变成极其饥饿。在我体内生长的孩子和身体所发生的转变令我饥肠辘辘。
然而，在今天这段经文中，令众人饥饿的是神自己。衪领他们抵达一个没有足够粮食和需要衪供应的境地。惟有真正地感到饥饿，衪的子民才懂得感恩神对他们的供应。
有时，神或许会许可我们经历某些缺乏，为的是要叫我们谦卑、并且教导我们要有更大的信心。当我们面对极大的需要和极度的饥渴时，我们需要看到神没有丢弃我们，衪反倒是藉此在预备我们去成就更大的事，就像怀胎的妇人等待孩子出生那样；你会不会是这样呢？
当我们落在极大的需要中，尤其是同时经历痛苦和不安，是很困难的。我们往往很自然得出一个结论，就是这些不如意的事情必须尽快完结。然而，有时神会领我们面对某些环境，藉此来教导我们学习彻底倚靠衪 － 让我们知道我们活着不是单靠食物。神教导我们，除了单单得到我们生活所需的物质，我们还有更大的需要。我们需要“耶和华口里所出的一切话。”
祷告
我们的神，我们的父，求你帮助我们渴慕你，又求你以圣经中的话语来喂养我们。阿们。
申命记 8:1-10
1“我今日所吩咐的一切诫命，你们要谨守遵行，好叫你们存活，人数增多，且进去得耶和华向你们列祖起誓应许的那地。
2你也要记念耶和华你的神在旷野引导你这四十年，是要苦炼你、试验你，要知道你心内如何，肯守他的诫命不肯。
3他苦炼你，任你饥饿，将你和你列祖所不认识的吗哪赐给你吃，使你知道人活着不是单靠食物，乃是靠耶和华口里所出的一切话。
4这四十年，你的衣服没有穿破，你的脚也没有肿。
5你当心里思想，耶和华你神管教你，好像人管教儿子一样。
6你要谨守耶和华你神的诫命，遵行他的道，敬畏他。
7因为耶和华你神领你进入美地，那地有河，有泉，有源，从山谷中流出水来，
8那地有小麦、大麦、葡萄树、无花果树、石榴树、橄榄树和蜜。
9你在那地不缺食物，一无所缺。那地的石头是铁，山内可以挖铜。
10你吃得饱足，就要称颂耶和华你的神，因他将那美地赐给你了。
We Do Not Live On Bread Alone
"He humbled you . . . 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
During pregnancy, I often experienced quick shifts from feeling indifferent about food to feeling ravenously hungry. The child growing inside me and all of the changes taking place caused me to hunger.
In our Bible reading for today, though, it was God who caused the people to hunger. He brought them into a situation where they didn't have enough to eat and they needed to depend on him. Only when his people were really hungry could they appreciate that God provided for them.
Sometimes God may allow us to experience a lack of something in order to humble and teach us to grow in faith too. Could it be that when there's a profound need and a deep hunger, we need to realize that God is not abandoning us but preparing us for something greater, as when a woman is carrying a child?
It's hard to be in a place of neediness, especially if there's pain and discomfort involved. And it's tempting to conclude that whatever isn't going well should be fixed as soon as possible. But sometimes God leads us into situations to teach us to be utterly dependent on him—to show us that we don't live on bread alone. God teaches us in order to show us that there's more to our survival than merely having what we need. We need "every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
Prayer
God our Father, Help us to hunger for you, and feed us with your holy Word. Amen.
