Focus on Today - Daily Thoughts about God

“Give us today our daily bread”. Matthew 6:11 NIV

We have prayed it hundreds of times….. “Give us THIS DAY our daily bread.” Notice the Bible doesn’t say, Give us today our WEEKLY bread or Give us today our YEARLY bread.

God wants us to trust him one day at a time. We don’t need to be concerned about tomorrow until tomorrow. You don’t need to be concerned about next week until next week. To Be Healthy, Focus on Today

This means we don’t have to stress about all the future steps necessary to make us safe, strong and secure. We just need to focus on what we need to do for and with today. We can focus on succeeding one day at a time.

Jesus said, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:34 NLT).

Easier said than done, right? We are “culturalized” into worrying more because we want more. We seem to never be satisfied, never secure. What really matters is not what we want, but what God wants for us. Rest assured he will provide.

Are you trusting God? Why do you think God wants you to take it one day at a time? Make a list of all your concerns related to your life journey. Now trim the list down to only those things you need to deal with today. See how your list shrinks. Share your concerns, and talk to God about them one day at a time.

Jesus teaches us to pray that God would give us daily bread. Obviously Jesus was not telling His disciples to pray only for bread. But bread was a staple in the diet of the Jews, and had been so for many years. Furthermore, bread was a powerful symbol of God’s provision for His people in the Old Testament.

We remember how God cared for the Israelites when they were in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. Life in the wilderness was hard, and soon the people began to complain that it would be better to be back in Egypt, where they had wonderful food to eat. In response to these complaints, God promised to “rain bread from heaven” (Exodus 16:4).

The next morning, when the dew lifted, there remained behind on the ground “a small round substance, as fine as frost”. It was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey? (v. 14 & 31). When God miraculously fed His people from heaven, he did so by giving them bread.

We too will receive our daily bread, if only we will pray, trust and be thankful. God will provide, one day at a time. Worry not about tomorrow, but focus on each day, one day at a time.

By John Grant
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney