The Christian Pilgrim And Daily Bread provision from the LORD God is an important aspect of the Christian faith journey, every believer must know.
When we pray the LORD’S Prayer, as written in the Scripture in; Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11: 2-4, which Jesus Christ taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray, we say the line that says;
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
In some versions of the Scripture, it’s written as;
“Give us today the food that we need.” Matthew 6:9-13 (NLT)
“ Give us each day the food we need.” Luke 11:2-4 (NLT)
“ Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:9-13(NKJV)
“ Give us day by day our daily bread .” Luke 11:2-4 (NKJV)
“ Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:9-13(NIV)
“ Give us each day our daily bread .” Luke 11: 2-4 (NIV)
Although the way it’s written may differ in each version of the Scripture, one thing that is consistent is the emphasis on,
“Today”, “ Daily, ’’ “Each day” “ This day”, “Day by day”
Many times we say this prayer over and over again, without stopping to meditate deeply on the words of our request and what it means for us as Christians, who are pilgrims and are on our way to our eternal home, heaven.
The provisions of God for His children are daily.
But man has been sold the lie that until God provides for the whole week, month, and year, He is not loving enough, and neither is He doing enough to take care of him and meet his needs.
So all man does is complain, murmur, and grumble for all that which God is yet to do while turning a blind eye to that which God is doing daily.
Daily the LORD God provides us with water to quench our thirst, food for our stomachs, clothes on our backs, and a roof over our heads.
Yes, it might not be according to the world-set standard of a big mansion, and banquet hall-filled buffet, but the truth is that there is a provision.
The LORD God is faithful and always keeps His end of the promise of daily bread.
However, the mind of Man has been conditioned not to be satisfied with the daily provisions, but to want more.
A perfect example is that of the Israelites and Manna From Heaven written in Exodus 16: 1-36.
The whole community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert, the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The Israelites said to them, “ If only we had died by the LORD’S hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into the desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “ Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go and pick as much food as they need for that day. I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instruction. On the sixth day, they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”
The LORD said to Moses, “ I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Now Tell them, ‘ In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God .”
That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other,
“What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “ It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. These are the LORD’S instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.”
So the people of Israel did as they were told.
Some gathered a lot, some only a little. But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those that gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those that gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.
Then Moses said to them, “ No one is to keep any of it until morning .”
However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.
So Moses was angry with them.
The LORD’S instruction to the Israelites was simple, “ Each day the people can go and pick as much food as they need for that day .’’
Did they obey this instruction? No!
Why?
Because of the conditioning of the mind of man according to the system of the world; until what he has is plenteous, and overflows to the next day and the day after, it’s not enough.
When a Christian pilgrim tries to provide for himself outside God’s provision of daily bread, it will be full of maggots and begin to smell, as was the case of the Israelites, when they disobeyed God’s instruction that each family should gather just what they needed for each day.
The LORD God is not insensitive to our needs.
When there is a need for plenteous provision of more than our daily bread, the LORD God who provides for our daily bread, has the ability to provide for the excess that we need, and also protect it, so it’s not full of maggots nor smell.
In vs 22-24 of our text, On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation.
He told them, “ This is what the LORD commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the LORD. So bake and boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”
So they put aside some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the Morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or smell.
Beloved Christian pilgrim, the LORD God provides for you, according to your needs per time, day, week, month, and year.
When there is a need for leftovers apart from your daily bread, He will provide. He knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him.
God wants us to live fulfilled and happy with daily provision.
After all, there are no assurances for tomorrow.
The Parable Of The Rich Fool shared by Jesus Christ in Luke 12:13-21 is a perfect example.
In the parable, “ A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘ What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops .’ Then he said, ‘ I know! I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I will have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I will sit back and say to myself, “ My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry !”
But God said to him, “ You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?”
“ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a relationship with God.”
The life of a Christian ( One who is a follower of Jesus Christ, who has accepted Him as their personal LORD and Savior, Baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ), is the life of a pilgrim, on a pilgrimage here on earth.
We are just passing through this life, journeying toward heaven. We are on this earth only for a short while.
How short it is, we can not say.
It can be for 1 week, 3 months, 5 years 10 years, 30 years, or more. Depending on how God wills it and how we take care of our living body container, which gives us a license to live here on earth.
Jesus Christ lived on earth for just 33 years, yet He lived a full and fulfilling life and fulfilled His purpose for coming to earth.
There is nothing wrong about enjoying God and the blessings He freely bestows on us in this life, while we are here on earth. But if we don’t hold the things of this life loosely and aren’t focused on God Himself and on being In heaven with Him as our goal, then we will lose out on the whole essence of being here on earth, which is to prepare us for the life we have ahead of us, in the place of our destination.
Some Christians in their quest to get more than their daily bread has killed, and lied against their colleagues at work, kin, or neighbour, while some has gone as far as selling their soul to the devil via different money rituals and diabolic rituals in a bid to get fast money to live largely and show off because they want to make provisions for more than their daily bread.
While for some, all they do every single day is, grumble, complain, and murmur about how life has not been fair to them, how God is wicked, how their mates are living in mansions, have everything working for them, and on and on and on.
Never thankful, never cheerful.
They seem to forget that on earth we are “Pilgrims” on a brief journey here, and everything here is temporal thus God gives us what is just enough to keep us for the day, bearing in mind that our stay is temporal.
A traveller doesn’t live according to the customs and standards of a foreign country.
People in the world system can live the way they want, acquiring and amassing wealth for themselves without caring about whose Ox is gored, not minding where their soul ends up. As Christian Pilgrims, we live according to God’s daily provision.
Pilgrims don’t get attached to the country they are passing through. they have a destination in mind, and they look forward to getting there.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s not good to plan ahead and save for tomorrow, God is a good planner. He leaves nothing to chance.
It is said, “If you fail to plan, you have planned to fail.”
But it’s wrong to let your desire to have more than your daily bread, lead you to sin against God, and your neighbour.
To God, all we need for our joy, peace, and happiness is our daily bread.
When we are content with our daily bread, we will be happy and thankful, knowing that the LORD God who provided for today will provide for tomorrow.
Beloved Christian pilgrim, Apostle Paul speaking by the Holy Spirit In Philippians 4:12-13 said;
“ I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
The secret to living a thankful and happy life as a Christian pilgrim is contentment.
Learn to be content with your daily bread provision from the LORD, and differentiate your basic needs from Luxury.
As a Christian pilgrim, once your basic needs are met, you are fine.
Basic needs; food, water to drink, clothes on your back, shelter, and access to good medical care.
Anything beyond these is extra, give God thanks for them.
Learn how to have a full stomach or empty, plenty or little, and still be okay, happy, and thankful.
Learn to abase and abound.
Learn to use the resources available to you per time.
Don’t be focused on what you don’t have, that you spend all your time grumbling, murmuring, and depressed.
Don’t in a bid to have more than your daily bread and impress people, destroy yourself and your relationship with God.
Whatsoever you acquire here is temporal and you will not take it with you to where you are going.
We are aliens and strangers on this earth, heading as pilgrims toward heaven. Our home is heaven. We should live like it.
Remember you can do everything through Christ, who gives you strength.
God Bless You.
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