Daily Bread

04 Apr Daily Bread

Read Matthew 6:5-14 (ESV)
Thought for the Day: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

When I was in high school, I signed up for the local Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. I felt very confident on race day. Then, I started thinking about the delicious pumpkin pie my mom had made for Thanksgiving Dinner. Instead of dismissing the thought, I went ahead and ate a big piece of pie right before the race for breakfast. There I was, eating something that should have been reserved for later in the day AFTER MY RACE. After that, I hydrated, put on my race gear, and headed down to the starting line. Once the race began, I felt fine for the first mile. However, I quickly started feeling sharp pains in my stomach that just kept getting worse until I slowed my pace way down. It ruined my race, but I learned the importance of the right food for my current needs. For instance, today I wouldn’t even think about drinking my morning coffee as a part of a late-night snack. To do so would only cause an unnecessary sleepless night!

When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He included the line, “Give us this day our daily bread”. Daily Bread refers to what we need today to sustain us. The word that is translated as “daily” was used by First-Century parents when they sent their children to the market to buy bread for their family. They would tell them to go and get “today’s bread” which was the fresh bread that had been made that morning and was exactly the bread their family needed for that day.

We live in a wants-based culture that completely disregards Jesus’ concept of daily bread. Too often we focus on things that don’t concern us. These are the problems of tomorrow which live in our heads even though they will never materialize. At other times we want things we don’t need even though we convince ourselves that we do. How often do we find ourselves in trouble because we focus on ‘delicious pumpkin pie’ that will be there at the right time even though our need at the moment is a healthy breakfast to get us going?

If you find yourself worried or anxious about something that shouldn’t be your focus at this moment, remember there is something you can do. Take a minute and pray this way: “Please give me this day my daily bread”.

In Christ,
Pastors Stan and David