daily bread: a note on taking it one day at a time

Last week I did a study on how we should pray, taking it back to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 and examining the framework of the Lord’s prayer.

Now, obviously this is a very basic breakdown of the Lord’s prayer. If this was ‘How to Pray 101’, we’d absolutely start here, given that Jesus literally says “This, then, is how you should pray” (v. 9).

The prayer starts with an intro (Our Father in Heaven), followed by awe + reverence + honor to God (hallowed be your name). Next is a prayer for God to keep moving (your kingdom come), a prayer for God’s will above all else (your will be done). It continues with praying for what we need today (Give us today our daily bread), followed by forgiveness – forgive me + help me to forgive (Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors). And it ends with a request to God to keep us safe, to keep us from what lurks around waiting to devour us (lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one).

We praise God, pray for His work in the world, pray for our daily needs, and pray for help in our daily struggles. What I want to talk about today, though, is the daily bread piece, or slice, if you will. That’s where I’ve been residing lately.

Daily bread. 🥖

Speaking for myself, at a time in my life where I’m hoping and praying and planning for future things (where to live, who to date, what’s to come), sometimes my tendency without realizing it is to ask for the whole loaf of provision, to get so caught up in what’s to come that I am not focusing on what’s today.  

In my bible, in the margins next to the Lord’s Prayer I have written from 2016: “Ask for whatever you want in His name, and ask regularly and faithfully. But ask for it knowing this: He gives EXACTLY what we need, when we need it. Daily bread, not a lifetime. Today’s portion. Not tomorrow’s.”

YES. Exactly. The idea of “daily bread” points to thankfulness for the bread we have TODAY. As God gives us exactly what we need for this day, we can thank Him for this moment, this sustenance, this portion right now, because we don’t have to worry about Him not supplying tomorrow or the next.

When we focus on asking and banking on the whole loaf, we lend ourselves to a scarcity mindset, of not only worrying there won’t be enough for future days, but also only focusing on future days. We worry that if we only focus on today’s portion, we’re neglecting the future bread to be had. And, you know what? Initially, it’s harder. It’s harder to be content with the needs of ONLY today because we’re in a time where we’re into stockpiling for uncertainty. But being on a daily bread cadence is where we’re supposed to be. It’s where the understanding-surpassing peace resides. We aren’t called to be worriers for the days ahead. Can we plan? Yes. Can we be concerned about the future? Also, yes. My bible says “Planning for tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. Careful planning is thinking ahead about goals, steps and schedules, and trusting in God’s guidance. When done well, planning can alleviate worry. The difference between worry and concern is that worry immobilizes us and keeps us frozen, but concern moves us to action.”

There are so many torturous things in this world, so many things happening in our cities and our neighborhoods and in our own lives. We want to overcompensate. We want to overplan. We want to over-ask. We want enough literal, proverbial and metaphorical bread to live off for the next month or two because we think that’s what will bring us peace. But what I’m taking from the lesson of daily bread is the promise of God saying, “Don’t worry about future bread. Pray for what you need TODAY. Don’t worry about tomorrow. I will sustain you. I will provide for you. Be present. Trust me with today.”

We don’t have to accept today’s daily bread while thinking we simultaneously need to keep feeding the sourdough starter on our counters for future days. We don’t have to provide for our needs ourselves. In fact, we’ll keep being on a daily bread lesson loop until we grasp that we must (and we GET to) trust God daily to provide what He already knows we need, want and desire, “… for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (v. 8).

We know how stockpiling bread went for the Israelites. God promised daily provision, told them to take an omer’s worth for each person each day (except on Saturday when they gathered enough for two days). Moses told them not to keep any of the remaining manna for the next day. Those who gathered one omer had just enough – not too much, not too little. I love that the Bible specifically states that. God told them what to take and it was just enough. But others didn’t listen, they stockpiled, they held onto the false security of keeping just a little extra in case it didn’t rain down the next day. They doubted future provision and they paid for it with manna that turned to maggots. Ew.

And in Matthew 6:

25 “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? 26 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? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

If the birds of the air aren’t worried about storing away future provision in barns, then neither should we. We may not be collecting literal bread raining from heaven today, but that’s because Jesus is the true and better manna, the bread of LIFE. Rained down from Heaven and in the flesh. He will always be enough for all our tomorrows.

Let’s not let our manna turn to maggots and instead, let’s ask regularly and faithfully for what we want knowing He will give us exactly what we need, when we need it. Enjoy that promise. Enjoy that provision. Enjoy that daily bread. Maybe toast it and put a little jam on there. Enjoy the goodness that is today. There’ll be bread for tomorrow. 🍞