A God Who Provides Daily
In the Lord’s Prayer (found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4), Jesus asks the Father to “give us each day our daily bread.” But what is He referring to?
In the book of Exodus, after the Israelites had been led by Moses out of Egypt, they wandered in the desert for 40 years before they came to the Promised Land. They were concerned about food - and the Lord sent them manna. Manna was “bread” sent from heaven - it was not a natural sustenance that could be gathered in the wilderness, or caught like game (see Exodus 16). The funny thing about manna, though, was that it could not be stored or saved. The Lord provided exactly what His people needed each day.
It has been a prayer lately that I’ve been praying over my loved ones, when I might not know specifically what to ask for: “Lord, give them exactly what they need today, whatever that is." And I trust God to provide whatever they are lacking.
This ties into what Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? [...]
So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
I think the repetition here is important. Twice, Jesus says, “Your heavenly Father knows.” God sees us and knows us intimately. He knows exactly what we need physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. He is also faithful to provide what we need, because He loves us and cares about us.
Jesus also tells us three times not to worry, and that’s key. Worry steals our peace of mind, it eats away at our productivity, and shifts our focus away from God’s power and ability. In Philippians 4:6-7, we are told, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
God knows our circumstances. Maybe we’re ill or suffering a health crisis. Maybe we’re worried about relationships, finances, or job stresses. Maybe we’re grieving the loss of a loved one. Or maybe we’re just having a really bad day, and nothing seems to be going right. These circumstances are not good, but they do not change God’s goodness. Just like bad circumstances do not determine our character or personality, they do not change who God is, either.
God’s goodness endures forever, and He is ever faithful to provide what we need in every season. All He asks is for us to take it one day at a time and focus on Him. He will provide our daily bread, our manna.
In John 6:35, Jesus tells us, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” Daily relationship with Jesus is our daily bread. We get everything we need from Him - everything needed to sustain us in every sense. Our flesh will eventually fade away, as everything does on this earth, but our Spirit, the very essence of who we are, lasts forever - and it is this that only Jesus can sustain and nourish. The Lord is more than enough for us, every day.
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits. | Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”
Let’s pray together.Lord God, thank You for being faithful in providing what we need each and every day. Help us to lift our eyes to you, instead of keeping them on our circumstances. You are strong enough to carry our burdens, as well as us through them. You are goodness itself, and so Your goodness does not wax and wane depending on how good or bad our circumstances are. You told us that all we need to do is seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and You will add to us everything that we need. Help us to remember that You always have our best interests in mind and are always working for the good of those who love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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