Hi
Blessings and peace to you. Friday was my sister’s birthday. From as early as her fourth birthday or earlier; I’ve been conscious of her birthday, October 16, being World Food Day. This year I wanted to post a profound statement about feeding the hungry and connect it with the work I do. I got sidetracked, the moment was lost. But here I am with a more profound statement from Jesus Himself. Here’s today’s Holy Nougat
“Give us each day our daily bread.” Luke 11:3 TLV “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11 TLV
In French, the word for daily is ‘quotidien’. Although it originates from the Latin for daily, my brain always sees it as ‘in quota’ – my version of what you need; which I then transform into ‘for this time’; thus ‘daily’. And while my linguistic logic is exceptionally faulty; it seems to me that it might have subconscious roots in this prayer point we often ‘parrot’ to God. For,
to invite our Sovereign and Parent to give us each day, or this day or daily bread; is in part asking for what is our quota. What we need for this time frame.
Of course, since our request is for bread, I’m also taken to the Israelites’ Wilderness Wanderings; when they Literally relied on God to provide food each and every single solitary day. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes wonder whether I would be numbered amongst the rebels. For the thought of the sameness; the fact that I could only gather enough for today – my in quota – may have sent me complaining to Moses; a lot.
But Jesus says we are to ask for what we need This Day; as in ‘take no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow is ALREADY covered by our Abba … ‘
And there is the rub.
Because it means that:
A) we are submitting to what God determines our quota is in this moment, whether it feels sufficient, excessive, or just right;
we let go of yesterday’s quota today since our needs today might have changed and
C) that we cannot be obsessed with storing ‘treasure’; because it might get wormy.
So in submitting to God’s provision, let’s be clear that we’re not only speaking of the food we eat. Rather, we refer to whatsoever we need to take us through the day; all the ALs – physical, emotional, mental, financial, spiritual, psychological, physiological, each and every Al. In other words, we need God’s involvement and provision to get through each day. And in saying ‘Give ME Bread this day’, also implies an expectation that God has the kind of bread we need and the quantities that will satisfy the hunger (not our desire).
Further, being satisfied with our quota, implies a willingness to consider the needs of those around us. Remember the other bread story – where Jesus fed the multitude with little and nothing? Yup; it was also a miracle that some people’s “eye wasn’ bigger than them belly” (ie they weren’t greedy and selfish); with them taking more than needed. Asking for our GDA (God’s Daily Allowance) is a practice in self control.
Sometimes, we allow our yesterdays to spill over into our todays, to the extent that we are unable to appreciate what we really need today is not necessarily the same as yesterday’s needs. Overnight food is nice; but not always healthy. The food and portions of a newborn is different from a toddler, child, teen, youth, young adult, etc. And since God already knows what today brings – whether stroll, brisk walk, sprint or marathon – it’s safe to presume that after so many thousand years of providing in quota for us humans, God knows exactly what each of us needs for our Today after having survived our yesterday.
In the same way, we ought to expect God to provide for us tomorrow. This is often difficult, as we use the experiences we endured in our today to colour our tomorrow. And in one sense, we MUST. For it is our experience of God’s provision of our needs that strengthens our faith in God. Thus it stands to reason that if we are disappointed, we move forward with the disappointment. By asking God for daily bread, we are trusting God, not our own selves with our tomorrow. That’s risky business. Especially when God ‘allowed’ some bad experience in the past, and we have to discern whether that too was our in quota.
So how do we trust God with the unknown tomorrow after the experiences of our yesterdays? First I’d ask us to also determine what qualifies us to shape our own tomorrows. To assess whether we got to where we are solely by our own efforts. Then I would challenge us to invite God to make that unmistakable move in our today that assures us of God’s ability to cover tomorrow’s needs. I would further invite us to count our blessings; our own blessings and see whether we can see God’s involvement. If we can, perhaps we only need to gather bread for today; since God’s got tomorrow locked. Even during a pandemic – it’s not God’s first. Seems every century has one.
Most of all; I propose that we deepen our relationship, so we know what our GDA is, and are also able to tell when we need to save bread for tomorrow’s sabbath. God’s provision for our lives is individual and contextual. It’s not as ordinary, bland and routine as it sounds. Ultimately, it is a matter of trust. Can we, will we give total control over to God?
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
