Charles Spurgeon’s comments on this verse says, “Request no more than bread, or food needful for us. Our petition concerns the day, and asks only for a daily supply; bread enough for this day.”
When God provided for the nation of Israel in the wilderness, we read in Exodus 16:16-31 that His provision for His people was daily, except for on the sixth day, when He provided enough for 2 days in order that they could observe the Sabbath. So here we are in the year of 2012. We have refrigerators, freezers, and basements that are used for storing food for many days and for emergency or lean times, should they come. Now I do not think that having these modern appliances is necessarily bad or evil, but I do believe that we need to look at these words of Jesus and ask ourselves some very important questions. Believe it or not, there are millions of believers around the world who live day by day. These words of Jesus really mean something to them because they do not have the ability to store food. Many of them live from meal to meal. In the providence of God, such is not the case for the vast majority of us reading this devotional today. Rather than feel guilty though, which is not the activity of The Holy Spirit, I think we need to take a step back and ponder afresh the words of Jesus in light of Scripture.
What does Scripture tell us to be thankful and content for? If we look ahead in this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is going to use the illustration of how The Father cares for the birds and the lilies of the field to assure us that He will provide food and clothing for His children as well (Matthew 6:25-32). When Paul was writing to pastor Timothy, he told him to pass on to the people of God that “having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” (1Timothy 6:8). Does this mean that we are not to save money or be wise stewards of the resources that God has given unto us? Absolutely not, for “house and riches are the inheritance of fathers” (Proverbs 19:14).
For you and me, I believe that these words of Jesus demand that we view our present condition through the lens of Scripture, and not by comparing ourselves with one another. I am pretty sure that the vast majority of us this morning did not wake up concerned about what we would eat for breakfast or what we would wear. God has provided food and clothing for us, hasn’t He? God’s truth sets us free (John 8:32) from the vicious cycle of worldly standards and values, so may God cause us to be gospel-thinking, Word-guided people. God does “daily load us with benefits” (Psalm 68:19) that are far beyond food and clothing! Psalm 103:2: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
