I had lunch with my daughter Rebekah today and she brought along my grandson, Merrick. As we sat and waited for our food to be brought to us, Merrick began to make noises, bang on the table a bit and show a level of excitement. I watched as she reached over, opened her bag and pulled out some treats, his pacifier, and a small toy. Within a few moments he was quiet, content and began to charm us with his noises, antics and smiles. Our time together was fun, communicative, and created another memorable moment. Upon returning to work, I began to think of how similar her actions were to what God does for us on a daily basis. He anticipates and provides for the needs we have yet to experience.
In the morning I like to wake up and think about what it says in Lamentations 3:22 – 23: “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” I know He will provide for me that day no matter what I face. I have complete confidence that I will not miss a meal today because I love Him and read His promise in Psalm 37:25: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread,” even during times of disaster (Verse 19). That confidence was shaken a bit one day when I put together that verse and Christ’s model prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. As you know the prayer asks for daily sustenance. My first thought was: “Is there a contradiction?” Knowing God and knowing that there are no contradictions in Him, it forced me to think about the promise and the prayer.
The first thing that came to mind is that Christ was asking for something on a daily basis, which meant that the prayer or the structure of the prayer must be conducted regularly and there was probably a reason behind that. Then it became obvious – if you love someone and want to be their friend, then you are going to talk with them regularly. It’s the concept of Halak we discussed earlier this year. By coming to God daily we understand our position in life/eternity, our need for his care and protection as well as our utter dependence on Him. We need to feel like Merrick who is totally dependent on Rebekah – we simply cannot get along without Him! I cannot imagine waking up in the morning and not knowing He was there – feeling alone and wondering if “is his all there is?”
The next thing that came to mind was that we must live in the present – not the past or the future. Our blunders of the past were washed clean and we were renewed by His grace. Those failures, hopefully, created an indelible impression to keep us from making the same mistake again. Also, we are admonished not to be anxious about tomorrow because it will have its own challenges (Matthew 6:34.) Christ said this is because He knows we will not be ready to face an issue until the time is right for that issue. Then we will have more information and experience. Today it is irrelevant. To understand that God will equip us for future challenges is very refreshing and provides a great deal of confidence.
The promise and the prayer remind us to keep our Friend close and on a “first name basis.” If the relationship is comfortable and sound, when you need to talk, there’s no anxiety in the asking.
Love Dad