Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
I have often wondered why Jesus limited this part of the Lord's prayer to just that very day. Why did He not say, "Give us today and tomorrow our daily bread?" Why did God instruct the Israelites to collect manna for each day ?
God wants us to trust and rely on Him each and everyday. He forbids us to fret and worry - Matthew 6:25- 27 “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?
Worry is an act that distrusts God and His provision. Worry is a way of saying to God, I am responsible for myself, I am in charge ; you are not! God holds us precious in His sight, and does care about us. He seeks our trust in Him, and wants us to yield to Him in total obedience and submission. He has prepared bountiful banquets for us, and wants us to feast on His goodness. That is why Jesus urges us in Matthew 6:33 to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When we focus on God, He takes care of us and meets our needs. God asked the Israelites to collect manna they needed for each day, as a sign of their total dependence and reliance on Him - each day He gave them what they needed. Each day God had the Israelites on His mind. He even knew their schedules and considered their day off - the Sabbath! God provided double the manna they needed the day before the Sabbath so they could rest on the Sabbath. God believes in wise preparations. He accepts that men ought to plan for the future. Remember He was the one that gave Joseph the wisdom to prepare Egypt for famine. To God, we need to be in right standing with Him, relying on Him daily as He guides us into the future. God led Joseph into the future. It was His wisdom that brought relief in famine. Joseph totally relied on God.
Jesus added - Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Let us rest in God and in His daily provision. Let us focus on serving Him and His Kingdom, and commit our ways to Him. He shall then guide us into tomorrow, and give us wisdom for tomorrow. But more importantly, let us eschew worrying and fretting as they are an affront to God's faithfulness.
Join the songwriter to sing - “Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!“ Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
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