Daily Devotionals

Less than three of every ten Americans say they trust the federal government to do the right thing. When a national election survey first asked citizens this question in 1958, 73 percent said they could trust the government just about always or most of the time. In recent years that number has plunged to three percent for “just about always” and 16 percent for “most of the time.”

In 1964, the numbers were at an all-time high of 77 percent. But within a decade—a time that included the Vietnam War, civil unrest, and the Watergate scandal—trust had dropped by more than half. Though trust rebounded in the 1980s, it began falling again after the 9/11 terror attacks. The war in Iraq, economic uncertainty, and even Hurricane Katrina played a role. Interestingly, younger people are slightly more trusting of the government today.

Jesus had absolute trust in the government of heaven. When faced with His own crisis with the devil, Christ turned to a resource that never let Him down—the Word of God. The revelation of divine truth in the pages of Scripture were so essential to His life that He compared the Bible to our need for daily food.

The trustworthiness of the government of Israel and the spiritual leaders of God’s people had fallen to an all-time low when the Messiah came to earth—so much so that the rulers of the time did not even recognize that their long-awaited Deliverer stood among them!

Christ believed in the authority of the Word of God. He set it above human traditions and public opinion. Jesus pleaded with the Jews to study the Scriptures carefully (Matthew 21:42). In a time when trust in institutions is low, we can have a sure foundation in the Bible.

Apply It:

Read through how Jesus handled temptations from the devil in Matthew 4:1–11 and adopt His strategy as your own.

Dig Deeper:

Psalm 119:160; Luke 10:26; John 5:39

Key Bible Texts

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)