Daily Bread 2020 #5
A Thought To Ponder:
Jesus is the bread of life. Bread not just for one day but for everyday. Bread that fills our hunger for love and acceptance and safety. Bread that doesn’t spoil or mold but continues to sustain us. Bread that assures that His mercies will be there for us in the morning. Sleep well and live confidently knowing that the Bread of Life is yours to keep.
A sociologist was writing a book about the special challenges of growing up in a large family. Among the families he studied was one with thirteen children. As he interviewed the mother of those children, he asked,
“Do you think all children deserve the full, impartial love and attention of a mother?” Her answer was a simple and near-terse, “Of course.”
Then, perhaps thinking he would catch her in a contradiction, he asked his next question of her: “Well, which of your children do you love the most?”
The mother gave this brilliant reply of love to her interviewer: “The one who is sick until he gets well, and the one who is away until he gets home.”
There’s no greater proof of God’s affection for us than the lengths He’s gone to in order to save us. Imagine the sleepless nights He’s spent rocking patiently on the front porch waiting for a glimpse of His kids on the horizon. More than anything, God wants His children, all of His children, to be home and safe with Him. That should not just help us sleep better, but live better in the calm assurance that we loved, wanted, protected, and provided for by our Heavenly Father.
Questions To Discuss:
1. Why do you think Jesus teaches us to pray for “daily” bread?
2. What are some of the things that you need God to supply every day?
3. How can you remember to thank God daily for the small things He provides?
4. Jesus calls Himself “the bread of life,” how does that descriptor tie into thought of God supplying our needs?
5. Why does it often feel like God isn’t enough? Why do you think we chase after things we don’t need instead of being content with what we have?
A Scripture To Read:
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:6-10)
A Prayer For Change:
Here’s a wonderful prayer written by Kevin Halloran:
Oh Lord, You are my shepherd and I should not be in want,
but so often I struggle to be content and do want;
forgetting that you have graciously provided me with every spiritual blessing in Christ and everything I need for life and godliness.
Thank you for often not giving me what I want
because my desires would draw my heart from being satisfied in You.
Help me to be content in You with what You have given me
and to not be focused on what my flesh wants or the world tells me I should have.
Protect me from coveting possessions or people,
talent or influence, relationships or prestige.
Keep my heart from being anxious for what I don’t have
and make me thankful for the numerous gifts that You have already given.
According to Your Word and steadfast love,
fill me with the joy and satisfaction of contentment in Christ.
Help me learn to be content in any situation like Paul
and to quickly reject the idolatry that dwells beneath the surface of my coveting.
I ask you to continually bring to mind your faithful provision for all of my needs,
that Christ died for the sin of coveting,
that in Christ I am free to be content and live righteously,
and that godliness with contentment is greater gain than pleasing my flesh.