Turning Stones Into Bread

When satan tempted Christ in the wilderness to turn stones into bread, he was exploiting the fact that Jesus had not eaten for forty days and was in a place of genuine physical need. This wasn’t a casual suggestion. It was about Christ’s very survival. But the Lord’s response, essentially that He would only eat when the Father told him to, immediately nullified satan’s challenge. It would have been foolish of satan to try the same thing again, like asking him to make it rain quail as it did for Israel in the wilderness, or even offering him something to eat from his own hand. By the Lord’s first answer it was clear such tactics would be futile in drawing Christ away from His purpose.

But consider for a moment what would’ve happened had Christ rationalized the way satan wanted him to and prayed to turn the stones into bread. First of all, I don’t believe the power to turn the stones into bread would’ve been at Christ’s disposal, since His power was of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy spirit would never be party to a prayer not born of the Father’s purpose, not even for Christ, Himself. The decision to rationalize the importance of His own survival above His calling would have forfeited both Christ's authority and the power that goes with it. Isn’t this exactly what happened to Eve in the garden?

Had Christ given in to this rationale of satan, He may well have spent the rest of his time in the wilderness praying for bread from stones, or quail from heaven, or pleading with satan to give him something to eat, all because HIS FOCUS HAD SHIFTED from the Father’s purpose to his own. From that day forward all satan would have to do to draw Christ away from His purpose would be to create new physical needs for him. The rest of Christ’s ministry on earth would then have been spent praying and working to alleviate one physical need after another, or in a word, SURVIVING.

This precisely describes the condition of so many in the Body of Christ today. By putting SURVIVAL issues above PURPOSE and calling of God, the church has surrendered much of her authority and power and doomed herself to a life of “stones into bread” ministry as she moves from one crisis to another. Turn on virtually any televised ministry on the air today and you won’t have to watch long before you hear that the ministry is in financial trouble, please send your tax deductible donations (so we can turn our stones into bread).

Praise God that Jesus did not respond this way. He understood satan’s strategy in the wilderness and employed the only possible defense against it – absolute submission and obedience to the Word and Spirit of God. That means the first fruits of my time, money, passion, thoughts, resources, talents, etc. belong exclusively to the King and His Kingdom. Anything less is rationalizing the importance of my own survival above His purpose, which means that, intentionally or not, I’m trying to turn stones into bread.

So don't worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. (Mat 6:31-33)