Receiving "Our Daily Bread" Through Others

"Today's Devotion" For February 2, 2006

Read: I Timothy 6:17-21; Psalm 111

RECEIVING OUR "DAILY BREAD" THROUGH OTHERS

"Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)

Recalling the President's "State of the Union" address from Tuesday night a number of things stand out as they regard the basic needs of people. The President spoke of finding ways to meet health care needs, housing needs, disaster recovery needs, and educational needs, just to name a few. He called on Congress to help him find ways to meet those basic needs in order to lift people out of poverty, great need, and despair.

What a wonderful example of how God provides us with our "daily bread." Have you ever thought about what it means to pray, "give us this day our daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer? Certainly most of us are familiar with the basic theological understanding of this petition of the Lord's Prayer in which we're asking God to provide us with those things basic to sustaining and protecting our lives. But, at the same time, do we take the time to stop and think about how God does "give us this day our daily bread?"

There are a lot of people involved in that process and God also uses each of us to help Him provide "daily bread" to others as well. The rancher, the shepherd, the chicken farmer, the pig farmer, and the turkey farmer are among the many people God uses to provide us with meat for food. The farmer, the keepers of orchards, and dairy farmers are also used by God to provide us with grains, vegetables, fruits, and diary products for our sustenance.

As far as the matters of security and safety are concerned, we recognize those who provide those things for us. Police officers, firefighters, military personnel, the Coast Guard, the FBI, the CIA, and other governmental entities are charged with providing security and safety from those who would do evil to us. They are responsible for keeping order and protecting the nation. This, too, is our "daily bread."

We get sick, injure ourselves, have toothaches, get headaches, catch colds, come down with the flu, are diagnosed with cancer, have high blood pressure, develop diabetes, find out we're near-sighted, and suffer from toothaches. God provides for our healing through the many doctors, specialists, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, medical technicians, chiropractors, therapists, and many other people through whom He works to provide for our healing and good health. This, too, is our "daily bread."

We could go on and on detailing the various "daily bread" needs we have as human beings. It would be exhaustive. What should be clear to us from what we've just shared is that God answers our petition for our "daily bread" through the gifts He's given to other people. Looking around us at all the people who touch our lives with things that are necessary to our good health and welfare we begin to realize just how marvelously God provides for our every need.

What a wonderful opportunity we have each day to experience God's love, grace, and mercy for us as He blesses us in myriad ways with our "daily bread!" As He provides our "daily bread" to us through other people, we have the opportunity to say thanks to Him and to them. Receiving God's blessings through other people we rejoice that He has blessed so many with marvelous gifts for the good of all. Heeding Paul's exhortation to Timothy to "command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (I Tim. 6:17), we ourselves recognize that God also uses us to accomplish His purposes and meet the needs of others as He provides everyone with their "daily bread."

Prayer: Father, I thank You for providing for my every need through the many people You bring into my life each day. While I may not see them, farmers, ranchers, doctors, scientists, teachers, policemen, firefighters, and a host of other people in other professions and walks of life are all involved in Your provision of my "daily bread." I give You thanks for such people and I pray that You would continue to bless humanity with "daily bread" through the many talents and abilities You've given to people everywhere. Use my gifts, talents, and abilities, O God, to be an instrument of your provision of "daily bread" to others - both physical and spiritual. Bless all who serve according to Your blessings and give them Your gift of faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. Give strength and courage to all who serve as You provide our "daily bread" through the ministries of others. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck.

Copyright @2006 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.