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96. "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread"


Exodus 16, Proverbs 30:7-9, Matthew 6:11, Luke 11:3, Philippians 4:19
Key Verse: "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19

What are needs and what are wants? Why are fellow Christians around the world in need while I have more than enough? Why hasn't God met their needs? Why has He chosen to meet mine?

"Give us this day our daily bread." How basic is that? Jesus instructs us to request a staple, bread. Our nutrition savvy appetites immediately spring into action and defend our cravings for more!

"Oh no, Jesus! You need more than bread! You need fruits and vegetables and dairy and proteins! Bread isn't even that good for you with all those carbs and gluten! But, there it stands, "give us this day our daily bread." No more, no less; and not even with butter.

During WWII, a story is told of an orphanage that housed many refugee children who had lost their parents to the Holocaust. These children had endured much suffering and tragedy in their young lives, and many of them had experienced some starvation before being taken in. The children thrived under the care of the staff and appeared to be recovering as well as could be expected.

At night, however, all the children would begin crying inconsolably. It was discovered that giving the children a piece of bread to hold while they were falling asleep, calmed them down and assuaged their fear of facing starvation again. The children were well fed during the day, but they needed the comfort of knowing that they would have at least something to eat tomorrow. Bread, without butter, was all they needed to be reassured that they would live another day.

To a starving person, bread is enough. To a poor person, a day's pay for a day's work is sufficient. For the travelers in the wilderness, daily rations of manna and quail were enough. When did we learn that it wasn't?

What if we still trusted our Father to truly give us our daily bread instead of stock piling it in our refrigerator and freezer and then throwing it out when it passes its expiration date? What would our walk with Him look like if, every day, we had to trust Him to meet our needs? Is it possible that the poor know something about their heavenly Father that we do not? Is it possible that our many blessings of provision have obscured our view of the true giver of all blessing?

How sad for us. We think that we are self-sufficient, but we are not. Do we give God the credit for the job that we have that enables us to pay the bills and put food on our table? When we are in lack, is our first appeal to Him to meet our basic needs? He is the source of all good things, directly or indirectly. What we need to ask ourselves is, do we have more than we need? Are we the means that God wishes to use to bless our brothers and sisters who are in need? Am I willing to share? Am I the answer to another's prayer for daily bread? Is that another part of His Will on this earth?

Then, what of my spiritual needs? Do I have a daily dose of God's Word to sustain me and guide me in my walk? "Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (Matt.6:25B) Daily bread is more than food for our stomachs. It also includes nourishment for our souls. Am I starving my soul and paying too much attention to my stomach? “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4.

 We have so much to be thankful for!

Hymn: "Thanksgiving Song"

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