February 2025

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

It is not easy for us to live in the moment; to be still and present with God and what is happening NOW. We get hung up on the past; we are anxious about what might happen in the future. God knows this about us, and so Jesus gave us a model prayer including that line above: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Over and over again, Jesus seeks to equip us in the battle against worry by reminding us to remain in the moment; in this day; not to borrow the problems of tomorrow or the day after or the week after or the month after. Like the Israelites in the wilderness after their deliverance from Egypt were told to collect enough bread (manna) for the day, so we are to remain focused on God’s provision for THIS DAY. This is a necessary exercise in trust. This is the discipline of daily dependence.

I am not an expert on that kind of living, by the way. Like so many, I get caught up in anxiety, and I need to return constantly to passages like Matthew 6 and others, in which God teaches us to slow down and remember God’s bigness and God’s loving concern for us. I need that reminder and that Word from God to counter the wailing winds of worry. You know how you can single out a voice in a crowded room, so long as you are focused on it? We need to be tuned in to God’s voice like that, though constancy in prayer and the reading of Scripture and the reminders from Christian friends. God knows that is what is keeping me going these days.

When prospects of the coming days and weeks and months and years seem overwhelming, God encourages us to slow down and be present to receive our daily bread. “Trust me,” he says. “Trust me today. Let’s do what we can today, and save tomorrow for tomorrow.”

Prayer: O God, help us to hear your voice and respond in faith today. Give us this day our daily bread. Thank you for the manna. It showed up again this morning.

God bless you, Church.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matthew