“Our Daily Bread”
— The Lord’s Prayer,
Part 7 of 12

Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and God will give you everything you need. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have its own worries. Today’s problems are enough for today. — Matthew 6:33
We buy insurance, save for retirement, and lay out plans and strategies in an attempt to secure our future. Most people would say there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, we’re in trouble if we don’t, right? Not necessarily.
I might need to refocus my concerns.
Jesus said, “Do not trouble yourselves with questions like ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” (Matthew 6:31). Those who don’t know God, he says, seek such things.
Do I really know him? If so, I need only be concerned with what he wants me to do right now.
God is the perfect employer.
One day, I said to a Christian friend, “If I take care of God’s business, I can be sure he’ll take care of me. The Bible says, if I put him first, I’ll have what I need (Matthew 6:33).” He agreed, yet immediately followed with “but,” telling all that the world says I must do to be successful. Maybe that will work for him, but I think he’ll waste a lot of energy worrying about tomorrow’s bread.
The Israelites had trouble trusting God. Why? They didn’t know him well enough to know he would take care of tomorrow, so they gathered more manna than they needed, only to see it spoiled the next day (Exodus 16:20).
“God helps those who help themselves.”
An often-repeated saying is seldom questioned.
Someone asked me, “Do you believe God helps those who help themselves”? He looked a little surprised when I answered, “Absolutely not. God helps those who help others.”
“Give,” Jesus said, “and you will not have to worry about receiving. You will receive a full measure, packed down, shaken together, and spilling into your lap. The measure you give determines the measure you will receive” (Luke 6:38).
When I pray, I remind myself that I need his direction and resources for today, and following him will produce success much better than anything I could plan.