Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”
There is something comforting in this verse; it speaks of daily provision. Conversely there is something strangely disconcerting, for it speaks of daily need. I suspect we all prefer provision over need.
David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel and noted scholar of the Bible, estimated there were up to 4 million Jews who marched out of Egypt in Exodus 12. It didn’t take long for the deliverance to subside as the people dealt with the challenge of where to find food for 4 million people.
The Bible tells us God provided manna, a small wafer made of honey and delivered it to their camp 6 days a week for 40 years. Now I confess there is something inside me that wonders why God didn’t make it easier for the people by providing a week supply of manna every Monday morning. Wouldn’t the people have preferred to go to bed 6 nights a week without worrying about whether there would be provision the next day? Well, I figure God knew it may have been easier and preferred but not necessarily better. Not everything necessary is easy and not everything easy is necessary.
There are important principles to learn about God and ourselves that require daily trusting God for provision. We face each new day with the assurance the same God who provided our “manna” yesterday will provide it today. As we like to say around our congregation, “What God has done before He is doing again!”
Let’s sing: “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee…”