Hello eternal family,
It’s been quite a while since I sat down to pen down something to share here.
I definitely have been writing a lot this year. However, most of it has been for private consumption.
But today, I feel led to share this particular one.
Yesterday at my local church, a new series was started on prayer.
My pastor introduced the series with the Lord’s prayer and focused on the first few lines in the prayer.
“Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 9: 9-10).
Just those lines.
At the end of the service, I had a deeper appreciation and recognition of God as my Father, yet He is holy and sovereign above all. That right there is a great shift in perspective.
When we pray, we are praying to our daddy, who is very capable and willing. And because he knows best, we should trust him and exchange our will for his.
But later, after church, the next line in the Lord’s prayer kept popping up in my mind, “Give us our daily bread.” (Matthew 9: 11)
I tried to get it out of my mind and told myself, “Esther, that’s probably next week’s sermon. Don’t get ahead of yourself.’
But God wasn’t about to leave me hanging till next week. Esther’s word is the next line and probably yours too.
Let me give you a backstory for a better context and understanding of why this verse later mattered to me.
So, for the past few months, I’ve been feeling very crappy. Extremely crappy.
I’ve been feeling quite hopeless and powerless about many things in my life.
I literally have to muscle up the strength for each day’s work, and that’s all I can get myself to do most days. It’s been a struggle.
I also haven’t had much appetite for God’s word and prayer.
When I open the Bible, I don’t connect or hear anything these days.
I just can’t find the strength or words when I try to pray.
All I can do these days is journal, vent at God, and turn right back to ask him to help me.
So, when the words, “Give us our daily bread” kept popping up in my head, it really meant nothing to me.
I got in my car to drop my little sister back home with my parents because she had spent the weekend at my place. On our way, I started playing the song “Sufficient for today” by Maverick City.
“’Cause what I’ve learned about Your favor
Your mercy and Your grace
Is they go on forever
They’re sufficient for TODAY.”
Those particular lines opened my eyes and mind.
Then the words, “Give us our daily bread,” made sense.
The key word there is “DAILY” and “TODAY.”
The minute I made that connection, I understood what God was saying to me.
The previous day, I had told God, as I wrote in my journal, “God, for months now, I have been asking that you help me, but you haven’t helped me. I know that’s a very short prayer, but it should count for something. That’s all I can say right now. Please help me.”
So, the moment the word “DAILY” jumped at me, I quickly realized that God had been answering my “help me” prayer, DAILY.
However, I don’t know about you, but when I ask God to help me, I expect him to provide me help that will last for months or years. Not weeks or days. But preferably YEARS.
I desire YEARLY blessings, not DAILY blessings.
My human and prideful mind doesn’t want to come to God asking for the same thing DAILY. I would prefer a YEARLY or even ETERNAL blessing.
But let’s be honest, would you return to him if God did that?
I wouldn’t.
In my case, I was asking for strength and hope literally DAILY.
The strength to get up and work.
The hope to believe that my work is not in vain.
The strength to BE each day and not give up.
I asked for that DAILY.
And God did supply it, DAILY.
But for me, it wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t sufficient.
Because my idea of God helping me is when I don’t have to come back and say, ‘Help me. Give me today’s bread, hope, and strength.”
And that may be true for you too.
Could it be that God has indeed been providing DAILY?
Protecting you DAILY.
Guiding you DAILY.
Teaching you DAILY.
Strengthening you DAILY.
Waking you DAILY.
But you are missing the DAILY blessings and feeling miserable because you are expecting the YEARLY, ETERNAL & PERMANENT one that doesn’t require you to come back to him for the same request?
Don’t get me wrong, God can do the yearly blessings too, but I believe the DAILY blessings keep us at the feet of God. Because we come back, DAILY.
The DAILY blessings breeds communion, trust, and intimacy with our Father.
In fact, I believe that by trusting God for the DAILY blessings, we are already living in the YEARLY and ETERNAL blessings.
So, I hope that, just like me, you will gradually begin to recognize God’s daily blessings in your life and know He sees you.
At the end of the church service, God told me, ‘Esther, While I’m working on you, I need you to keep showing up and being the answer and hope to others’ prayers. Keep asking for DAILY strength. I’ll provide it. Each day. It’s sufficient for TODAY.”
Isn’t it interesting how I wrote that down yet didn’t get it?
And God knew I didn’t get it, so He kept ringing that word, “Give us our DAILY bread,” in my ears until I got it.
I hope He rings it in yours too.
Family, let us go bold before God and ask for His grace, strength, hope, faith, love, mercy & blessings DAILY.
He will provide it, and that is sufficient for TODAY.
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6: 34).
God bless.
You are Eternally Loved.
Growing God's Eternal Family 