But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 (KJV).

REFLECT:
When we are asked the question, what gives us life satisfaction? Often to answer such a question would take us a few seconds or even minutes to ponder before we answer. Answers to such questions don’t come as spontaneously as we think.

We would want to think a few things through, carry out some elimination exercises mentally, and sift through a few past experiences before choosing the right answer. This is what we do as human beings, the reason for this mental exercise is because our experiences are so interwoven and complicated that we just cannot find one single event in our lives to endorse as giving us complete life satisfaction.

It is even more difficult for us as human beings to understand the whole essence of complete satisfaction when we have not had a real encounter with the true creator of the universe. It is only by having an encounter with God will we be able to begin to gain an understanding of what complete life satisfaction is.

When we have an encounter with God, He will give us the grace and ability to transcend beyond our earthly and physical experiences by helping us to bring these experiences in alignment with God’s Heavenly and supernatural reality. It is from this place we can truly experience, understand, and accurately recount what complete life satisfaction is or means.

This is exactly what our Bible verse for today (Matthew 4:4) tries to make us understand. It gives us a completely contrary picture of what our mundane human perception of complete life satisfaction is, and that is if we even have one to present at all.

This satisfaction presented in our Bible verse is in a class of its own, and all by itself, which is referred to as the Ultimate Satisfaction. So what does our Bible verse refer to as the ‘Ultimate Satisfaction’ and why?

From the point of view of our Bible verse, we notice that this Ultimate Satisfaction refers to the Word of God written in the Bible. Here, God, Himself validates His Word as being the ultimate Satisfaction we can ever get, or have.

The following are some things in this Bible verse that proves that the Word of God is our ultimate satisfaction:

1. The Word of God is life, and therefore, gives and satisfies us with the life we need both physically, spiritually, and otherwise. Isaiah 55:3; Act 5:20; John 6:68: John 10:10.

2. The Word of God is food that satisfies. Matthew 4:4; Isaiah 55:2; John 6:51.

3. The Word of God is healing and health. Psalms 107: 20-21; Matthew 9:35; 1 Peter 2:24.

4. The word of God is our defense, safety, and protection. Isaiah37:35; Zachariah 12:8; Isaiah 54:7.

5. The word of God is our prosperity. Deuteronomy 8:18 & 28:12; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 1 Kings 2:20.

If left to the task, we could go on and on about all that the Word of God is that qualifies it as the ultimate satisfaction and may end up not fully exhausting this topic. Hopefully, the few points presented above can clearly tell us that the Word of God is the only source of ultimate power, Satisfaction, and help we can ever imagine
.

Therefore in times of intense need, all we need to do is look to God’s Word for the satisfaction we so desire. However, we can only testify to the fact that the Word is our ultimate satisfaction when we have tried it for ourselves.

It is by having true Experiential knowledge, Intimacy, and understanding of the Word of God in our lives that can afford us a good testimony of what the Word can do. That is why the Psalmist encourages us in Psalms 34:8 to stand as witnesses to this truth as he beckons in his words saying, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” (KJV)

Just like the Psalmist we will be able to say after tasting and experiencing first-hand how enriching and satisfying the Word of God is to us —- “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”

My earnest prayer is like the Psalmist, this will also be each and every one of our testimony. In JESUS MIGHTY NAME.

When we allow the Word of God to be our ultimate experience, the Word also will in turn become our ultimate life satisfaction.

Ebimobo W. Obasi

PLEASE PRAY ALONG:

A Prayer to Know God Through His Word

FATHER GOD, I want Your Word to be alive and active in my life. Scripture helps me examine my thoughts and convicts me to live as Jesus did. I cannot live apart from Your Word because it offers me a way to know You more deeply. Please continue to reveal Yourself to me through Scripture. Let Your Word be my ultimate experience, sustain me through Your Word and make it the Ulitmate life Satisfaction that I will ever have. In JESUS MIGHTY NAME AMEN.