We Don’t Need Any More Than That
The world keeps telling us we’re owed more—more money, more cars, more houses, more clothes, more vacations, more attention, more gadgets. And it’s up to us to go get it. If we don’t, we’re seen as a failure.
As we continue through the Lord’s Prayer, this week’s focus is on the line: “Give us this day our daily bread”. It doesn’t say, “Give us everything we want.” It says, “Give us what we need today.”
In Exodus 16, the Israelites are in the Sinai Desert. It’s only been a couple of months since they escaped Egyptian slavery, but in that short time they begin to complain to Moses and Aaron:
“‘If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt!’ they said. ‘There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!’” (Exodus 16:3)
What a bunch of whiners.
In such a short time, they had already forgotten how bad things were in Egypt.
Wait a minute … we do the same thing. We neglect to see how good we have it.
So, God tells Moses what will happen, and Moses passes it on to the people:
“The Lord will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the Lord.” (Exodus 16:8)
“That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew had evaporated, there were thin flakes on the desert floor, as fine as frost on the ground.” (Exodus 16:13-14)
When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was. Moses told them,
“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs.’” So, they did this. Some gathered more, and some less. When they measured it, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat.” (Exodus 16:15-18)
“Then Moses said to them, ‘No one may keep any of it until morning.’ But they did not listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it became infested with maggots and began to smell.” (Exodus 16:19)
Why do we struggle to trust God?
This daily bread from Heaven was called Manna. It was always just enough for everyone, every day.
Jesus is our Bread from Heaven.
He taught us to pray this way in the Lord’s prayer during the Sermon on the Mount. He warns us not to pray like hypocrites who pray for selfish reasons. (Matthew 6:5-15)
Later in verses 25-34, He says,
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”
Worry is distrusting God. We need to trust God!
Our priorities need to be God’s priorities. If we align our goals and dreams with His, we have everything we need, when we need it.
We need to move from FEAR of LACK to a LACK of FEAR.
Having just enough is more than enough.
