Life is so daily. Each day brings its set of expectations and resources. Today there is a supply for today’s demands. But what is daily bread? How does it provide life’s supply for the demands?
My Mysterious Mind
Safely one week into November, I look back at October and conclude it was A LOT. From beginning to end, my days were PACKED and my heart was FULL. Our home was blessed with the presence of grandchildren and their parents; my world was challenged by dental complications, sudden deterioration of a dear family member, and high-level duties from job and church. As if that wasn’t enough, October was also the month my husband and I signed multiple estate papers and legal documents, followed by a stack of homework expectations to wrap up assets. As I reflect on the demands of October, I am grateful there was sufficient supply to complete the essentials.
I have also been pondering the phrase “daily bread,” such as in the famous prayer which asks God to “give us our daily bread.” Picturing that “daily bread” as my supply on the plate of today, I wonder what demands might devour it. Will it be enough to last until tomorrow?
But wait! We also talk about demands as “what’s on my plate,” such as having “too much on my plate,” or already having “enough on my plate.” When asked to take on another task, you reply “my plate is already too full” to take on something more. Is what is “on your plate” the supply, as in “daily bread,” or is it the demands?
At the risk of making your head hurt, I’m going to share that I think “daily bread” is BOTH the supply and the demand. In fact, living in perfect balance, the demands of each day are equal to the supply. Impossible, you say?
I’ve been thinking about how maybe each day I get an allotment of demands and the supply to fulfill those demands. This might be my daily bread. If I take on more than what today requires the demand exceeds the supply. In contrast, hoarding today’s supply by ignoring today’s demands may not leave me with leftovers for tomorrow. I suspect each day’s allocation of supply and assignment of demands is separate.
What about you? Does life seem to demand more than you have to offer? Or, are you saving your time and energy just in case tomorrow needs it? What might it look like to live with a balance of supply and demands for each day? Our “daily bread” might be the demand and the supply for a life lived just today.
Message of Mystery Acres
My husband is at Mystery Acres without me today. I wanted to be there, but I had other things I had planned to do. Today is “writing day.” If I go play in the forest today there will be no message for you this week. Also, I bought a ticket for a women’s retreat for tonight and made plans to be with a few family members and a friend. My daily bread of demands doesn’t include going to my beloved woods.
The upcoming “hard freeze” is the reason for my husband going to the forest without me. Today and tomorrow have nice weather; but on Sunday the temperature drops precipitously, and freezing temperatures are expected to arrive. The motorhome and water collection system currently contain water; a hard freeze could damage the pipes. My husband decided to go without me so he could drain the water before the freeze arrives.
Today is supplying time for the demands of today. For me, the daily bread includes writing today and being with people tonight. For my husband, his daily bread is time at Mystery Acres preparing for winter’s colder temperatures too soon arriving. If I tried to crowd my plate with joining him, or he postponed his needs until I could go with him, both of our plates would be out of balance. And something wouldn’t get done on its assigned day. Instead, my daily bread is here; his daily bread is at Mystery Acres.
The message of Mystery Acres is to pay attention to your own daily bread, not someone else’s. Each tree does its own growing and consuming of resources. Individually, each living thing has its separate supply and demands from that supply, but, collectively, the forest thrives. My roots need to tap into what I need to accomplish the work for me today.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“Give us this day our daily bread.” (from The Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6:11)
Jesus talked often about bread, including the prayer He offered as a response to the disciples asking Him how they should pray. In this prayer, often called “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus included some phrases of requests from the “Father in heaven.” The most practical, straightforward of these seems to be “give us this day our daily bread.” At first glance this appears to be asking for what we need to eat each day, so we don’t go hungry. I don’t think food is what Jesus is suggesting we include in our prayers, though it certainly isn’t wrong to ask for food.
The Father knows His children need food; we don’t really need to ask for it because He’s a good father and is committed to providing for our basic needs. Jesus described this when He suggested the disciples “consider the birds” who don’t worry about storing away food because God feeds them (Luke 12:24). Children who know they are loved by their parents don’t have to hope and pray for food. Attentive parents know their children need food and offer it to them regularly. I feel confident God the Father is an attentive parent who doesn’t need us to remind Him to give us food each day.
If the request for “daily bread” isn’t asking God for enough to eat each day, what is being requested? I think it’s two things, daily supply and daily assignments (i.e., demands). The “daily bread” is the work for today AND what we need to complete that work. I draw this conclusion from two things Jesus said.
First, in the story John wrote about a miraculous feeding, there is a strange comment from Jesus. The disciples were talking about where to find food for the thousands of hungry people and Jesus said He had “food” they didn’t know about. Specifically, Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent Me” (John 4:34). Adjusting the language a bit, Jesus might be saying, “My daily bread is to do what God assigned me to do.” Viewed this way, “daily bread” is the demands, or what was on Jesus’ plate.
Second, Jesus described Himself as bread, saying, “I am the bread of life” (see John 6:48). In the verses surrounding that statement, Jesus compared Himself, the “living bread from heaven” to the manna the Israelites ate in the wilderness after fleeing captivity in Egypt. Here, Jesus talked about a form of food, one physical, the other spiritual. Manna was physical food; Jesus is spiritual food. In both cases, the recipient is sustained and nourished by this bread. Manna was only edible for a day (except for one day a week when it was preserved through the Sabbath). Manna was, literally, “daily” bread, provided as supply to God’s people. Jesus, as the Bread of Life, is the daily supply to meet spiritual need.
Putting it all together, daily bread is the work God gives each of us to do; daily bread is also the supply to complete that work. Living in balance with our daily assignment means we have just the right amount of whatever we need to complete those tasks. Give us this day our daily bread. Show us what we are asked to do today and provide what we need to do it.
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in the mystery of daily bread, a balance of supply and demands? First, recognize supply and demand is designed proportionately for each day. If the demands seem greater than the supply, what is the problem? Are the demands too great or the supply too low?
If the demands are too much for the supply, you may have “too much on your plate.” The remedy might be a decrease in demands. What belongs on your plate and what doesn’t? Sometimes we let other people put demands on us that aren’t healthy. Too often, we expect more of ourselves than we can fulfill without damage to our health or well-being. Ultimately, the answer may lie in asking God what He has for you to do today, nothing more, nothing less. Getting that “to do” list, the next step is surrendering our will, or the will of those who make demands of us, to just God’s will. Your “daily bread” of demands is to do the will of the One who designed you and today.
If the supply is too low for the demands, you may not have “enough on your plate.” The remedy might be an increase in resources. Are you trying to be overly self-sufficient, not allowing other people to help you? Perhaps you neglect yourself, not getting enough sleep or recreation. Ultimately, the answer may lie in asking Jesus to feed you with Himself, the bread from heaven. A deficient supply could be a “supply chain problem,” with you being cut off from the spiritual source of what you need to complete your daily demands.
Are you carrying something that isn’t yours to bear or doesn’t belong to today? Today’s demands are designed to be met with today’s supply. Doing someone else’s tasks will require supply beyond what we have for our assignment. Doing tomorrow’s work today will deplete today’s supply because we can’t access tomorrow’s supply until tomorrow.
Daily bread is both supply and demand, but just for a single day. Yes, life is so daily. The plate of today holds the bread of meaningful work AND the bread of rich supply. Doing God’s will feeds us and we are sustained for that work by the Bread of Life. Just today, and again when tomorrow becomes today.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, give me this day my daily bread. Help me know what You have for me to do and to trust You as the source of supply to complete my assignments. Show me when I am grabbing at tasks that belong to someone else or to tomorrow. Teach me to live in better balance of supply based only on You and just the demands of following You. Thank You for being all that I need, my daily bread. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. I encourage you to ponder John, chapter 6, verses 25 to 58.
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