Daily Bread - Strahan

scripture and prayer reflection

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Lyrics

I wanna know where the fortress of hope does rest

To lay beside the banks of joy, not loneliness

I wanna feel the weight of eternal rest

To build the walls of freedom wider than the rest

So take everything that I have

Let it be multiplied as it's broken in your hands

You are my daily

You are my daily

You are my daily bread

There has been a harbor where the tide sets in

Built upon each other are the rocks, my friend

I wanna feel the sun rise on my innocence

To know it's warm glow on my skin again

So take everything that I have

Let it be multiplied as it's broken in your hands

You are my daily

You are my daily

You are my daily bread

I wanna feel love like the rain

Soak me to the bone so I can give again

You are my daily

You are my daily

You are my daily bread

Deuteronomy 8:1-5

1 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.

Mark 6:38-43

38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.

Luke 11:1-4

1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

4 and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

Reflection

When He first sent manna to His people, God instructed them to collect enough for one day only — in essence, asking them to trust Him to provide again for the following day. This was meant to demonstrate His power and care, so that they could understand His character. When they didn’t trust Him and gathered more than they needed, they found that it rotted overnight. Their efforts at providing for their own needs were a dismal failure — they had no real power or control.

So often we also feel as though we must grasp for what we need, gathering it up and hoarding it away — somewhat humorously illustrated in the toilet paper shortage at the beginning of this quarantine. I can see this play out in my own life as well. There are times of abundance where it’s obvious that God is providing for me. At other times, it feels as though I’m breathing through a straw — like I’m getting enough oxygen to scrape by, but I might suffocate at any moment. In times like that it can be tempting to slip into the belief that God is not providing enough for me, and to stop trusting Him in the wilderness. I can become grasping and hoarding, looking to other things — even good things — to fill me up, rather than turning to God.

The songwriter offers everything to God, asking for good even if everything he is offering is broken. Sometimes our hopes and desires must be broken before we are able to put our hope in what is real and true. Ultimately, He is the only thing that will fulfill us. As God gently breaks our attachment to other things He is disciplining us as a good Father does, in order to help us turn to Him, the real source of life. That is where the meditation of this song becomes a call to draw our hearts back to the grounding truth that God is our real need. If we have Him — and we do, in Christ — then we have everything. As Paul writes, everything else we have is beside the point (Phil 3:7-11).

When asked how to pray, Jesus taught His followers what has become known as The Lord’s Prayer. Notice it starts not with asking for provision, but for God to be glorified and for His Kingdom to expand here on earth. But these familiar lines do also include a request that God give us what we need for today. Not for tomorrow or the next day — simply for today, this very moment.

In the midst of the ups and downs of this time of quarantine and isolation, take time to center on this idea of God being our daily bread, the one who provides for us. Pray through the Lord’s prayer. What would it look like to glorify God in your life today at home, whether you are alone or with your family? Ask Him to provide what you need, trusting that whatever He gives is enough for this moment. Let Him worry about tomorrow.