Matthew 6:11
Hello My Chickadees,
We are embarking upon another Thanksgiving, where we are again presented with an opportunity to reflect on the things we are thankful for and the blessings we routinely neglect to acknowledge. The truth is, every day ought to be a day of Thanksgiving.
When Jesus was asked by His disciples to teach them how to pray, He gave them the antidote to anxiety. He said, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” What He was trying to convey to them was that God provides for us daily, one day at a time. In considering what Jesus said literally, one could conclude that He was just talking about food; but since bread is symbolic of sustenance, I suspect He also meant God will provide for us daily – mind, body, and spirit. What we are asking the Lord to do is to give us what we need to be all we need to be today. When tomorrow comes, He’ll do it all over again.
There is value in taking life one day at a time. We are often so busy planning for the future that we neglect the blessings bestowed upon us today. Every day presents us with a fresh opportunity to be better and do better than the day before. The last few weeks, I have been reflecting on this verse and allowing myself to be reassured and comforted in knowing that God is my provider and He knows what I need even before I ask Him.
In trusting that God has a purpose and a plan for what He does and what He allows, I wondered why Jesus would instruct His disciples to just focus on today. Much of what Jesus instructs us to do is contrary to what the world says we should do, and quite frankly, what we feel like we need to do. We measure our success or failure by the position we have been blessed to achieve or the amount of valued assets we have attained. We all but kill ourselves trying to achieve and acquire them. Why? Perhaps it is because we are conditioned to believe that our worth and value is measured by the recognition others give us or the status we believe we have from the things we have acquired. The truth is that we are worthy and valuable simply because we are children of God. Our Daddy owns everything and promised not to deny us any good thing (Psalm 84:11).
Jesus was a radical brother who challenged His followers regarding what they were caught up in, worried and anxious over. When He directed them to check out how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and gone tomorrow, He reminded them that as God’s children, we are worth so much more than the things He created around us to bring us pleasure.
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus challenged His followers to reprioritize their lives when He said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well.” So why worry? We worry because we have bought into the belief that we need to make our own success with our own efforts in our own time. This does not mean that we shouldn’t pursue an education or nice things, but it does mean that if we pursue those things above a relationship with God, we will become anxious and worried about attaining them. Then, once we have them, we are stressed out about how to keep them.
Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving; present your requests to God.” I am of the mind that the reason we are told is because He already has it worked out for our good. Think about it. When our children come to us and they are in need of our help or some kind of resources, as their parent and provider, we are going to do whatever we need to do to make sure they have what they need; and if they’re good, we don’t mind surprising them with something they may want as well. What makes us think that if we go to our heavenly Daddy, He won’t do the same for us? He has unlimited resources and it is His good pleasure to bestow them upon His children. The Bible even tells us that we have not because we ask not (James 4:2); but we must also be mindful of the fact that God is our Daddy and not our genie. His provision will happen in His time and according to what He deems is in our best interest.
When we canvas our lives and assess where we are, we will have to conclude that although we may not be where we want to be, we are not where we could be, and because of the promise in Jeremiah 29:11 that speaks of God’s plans to prosper us and not to harm us, we are not where we’re going to be. I heard Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church point out that in the middle of the word ANXIETY is the letter I. If you replace the thought that I need to make this happen with the thought that I’ve done my best and will trust God to do the rest, we will find that we will have what Philippians 4:7 refers to as “the peace which surpasses all understanding.” That peace will do something miraculous in our lives: it will guard our heart and our minds in Christ Jesus.
As we partake in a Thanksgiving in a COVID world, we can still be thankful. I believe God is trying to teach us the lesson of casting our cares, worries, and anxieties upon Him and stand in the fact that He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). His care for us allows us to go boldly before the throne of God in Jesus’ name and say, Lord, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” and with an attitude of gratitude for our lives, our heath, and our daily provisions (that we so callously take for granted), we can expectantly receive this day, our daily bread.
Peace, Blessings, and Happy Thanksgiving,
Gail
P.S. Good Morning My Chickadees: Morning Messages from Mom is coming. Stay tuned.