Give us this day…
Relying on the providence of a just-in-time
God
One of my greatest challenges,
spiritually, is to live in the moment, to
enjoy the gift of the present (pun
intended). I’m the type who likes to plan
ahead. I love calendars, lists, sticky notes
with reminders of what to put on my list.
Being organized and setting goals is
helpful, but if we are always thinking about
tomorrow, we never really enjoy today. The
contentment we long for is not in the past
or the future—it comes from being right
here, right now. Contentment brings us
freedom.
When we are focused too much on the
future, we find ourselves always hurrying,
and never get to enjoy the moment we’re in.
The times I feel the most joy, and feel most
authentically connected to God, are those
times when I’m not re-hashing past mistakes,
I’m not fretting about the future—I’m just
fully present . When we let go of
distractions and things we can’t control, we
experience God’s presence—and there is joy
in that presence.
Could it be that Jesus’ disciples had
this tendency as well, to worry about the
future, to miss the moments that were right
in front of them? I’m thinking they might
have. Here’s why: When they asked Jesus for
instructions on prayer, he told them, among
other things, to pray for “daily bread.”
Jesus’ teaching on prayer messes with my
efforts to have things buttoned up in
advance. Pray, he said, but don’t ask not
for a year’s worth of bread, or four years
worth of tuition. Instead, he said, ask your
heavenly Father (who already knows what you
need), for daily bread. That is,
enough bread just for today. When we pray
this way, we learn to trust. We learn
contentment, and consequently, we are set
free.
When God provided bread in the wilderness
(a prophetic symbol of the living bread who
was to come) for wandering Israelite slaves,
he told them to each gather just enough for
that day—no more. When they ignored this
command and gathered more than enough, it
spoiled quite dramatically (see Exodus 16)
I’m lately learning that God’s jackpot is
not a lump sum, but a daily provision. God
uses a “just-in-time” inventory system where
stockpiling is unnecessary and even
condemned (see Luke 12:16-21).
In 1 Timothy 6:6-12, we read: “But
godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into the world and we
can take nothing out of it…People who want
to get rich fall into temptation and a trap
and into many foolish desires… For the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Some people, eager for money, have wandered
from the faith and pierced themselves with
many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from
all this…”
Paul’s instructions to
Timothy to “flee from all this” seemed like
God’s word to me, as if through the pages of
Scripture he was telling me: “Be content,
woman of God. Don’t chase after money, chase
after me. Trust me. Ask for daily bread, and
believe that I’ll provide it.”
Book Review
Women
Tell Me: Finding Freedom from the Secrets We
Keep
by Anita Lustrea
Zondervan
Retail Price: $14.99
Amazon Pre-Order Price: $10.11
(This book has not yet released but is
available for pre-order from on-line
sellers).
Do you ever feel lonely at church? Do you
long for deeper friendship and wonder why
they are so hard to forge? Do you think to
yourself that if people really knew your
story, they would judge you?
Anita Lustrea, host and executive
producer of the Midday Connection radio
program on the Moody Broadcast Network,
fearlessly tackles these and other
“secrets”—ranging from body image to divorce
to domestic violence (and the church’s
mishandling of that issue) as she shares her
own story and the stories of many women
she’s met and ministered to over the years.
Like Anita herself, this book tells the
truth in love. It’s gracious but clearly
makes a call for change in the way women
treat each other, and the way the church
treats women, and the way we view ourselves
and our stories. Reading this book is like
sitting down with a trusted friend and
sharing confidences that will heal your
soul. I highly recommend this book. It
includes excellent discussion questions so
that you can read it with a group.
Quotable
“
I
know what it is to be in need, and 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 in want.
I can do all this through him who gives me
strength.” (Philippians 4:12,13)
Deeper
Connection
Write down three things that you are
worried or fearful about. Do these concerns
keep you from being content? How might
praying each day for God’s provision affect
your contentment level?
September 25: Downers Grove, IL—Rest:
Living in Sabbath Simplicity keynote at
event.
October 1-3: Junction City, KS—Listen
retreat.
October 14: Indianapolis, IN—Simple
Compassion keynote at church event.
October 16: Long Grove, IL—Listen keynote
at church event.
October 22: Wheaton, IL—One of several
authors speaking at event.
October 30: Chicago, IL—Simple Compassion
workshop at Breakthrough Urban Ministries.
November 8: Marietta, GA—Rest: Living in
Sabbath Simplicity keynote at event.
