“In the higher aspect of this first temptation, arising from the fact that a man cannot feel the things he believes except under certain conditions of physical well being dependent upon food, the answer is the same: A man does not live by his feelings any more than by bread.”
Matthew 4:1-11 New International Version (NIV)
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
One fruit, or evidence, of the Holy Spirit is self-control. It is amazing to me that even after not eating for 40 days, Jesus still did not eat when tempted by the Devil. Most of us would get moody when we're really hungry or starving, and can't go without missing just one meal. Some Christians fast to pray, but how many have gone forty days and nights without food? In moments of weakness, to battle our fleshly desires, we can't live by what our feelings are telling us, but have to live by the Word of God.
Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is our spiritual food. We can't trust our feelings, because even our feelings lie to us sometimes. We have to live by faith and not by sight. Jesus knew Scripture so well He had it memorized, so that when the temptation came He defeated Satan by His knowledge and faith in God's Word. The Holy Spirit brings Bible verses to our mind and soul to remind us what is true and right. Satan is the father of lies: he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But Christ came that we would have life. He is our strength even in our toughest moments. He lived the life we could never live, and He never sinned even when tempted by the evil one. We can trust in His righteousness, trust that He paid the price for our sin on the cross by His death. He is the perfect One who completely obeyed God with His life. To obey is better than sacrifice.