Do you ever find yourself in a desert place? In a place of barrenness and loneliness, in a place of need? Sometimes we wonder how we ever got here and if we will ever get out. And we wonder how we will survive. Jesus taught his disciples that provision comes from a loving heavenly father, even in the place of wilderness.
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Consider the grass in the field, he says, sweeping his arms wide, gesturing to a field full of wildflowers. Look how beautifully your Heavenly Father provides for them, clothing them in color and beauty. And look at the birds of the air, he says, pointing to a tree with a hundred birds circling and feeding on the fruit. Your Heavenly Father meets their needs. They don’t have barns and stores for tomorrow. Day by day God provides what they need. How much more valuable are you in God’s eyes? You must believe that your Father loves you and will provide for you what you need.
Don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t look at your surroundings and let doubts about the future take hold today. Perhaps you find yourself in a wilderness place. Maybe God himself has even brought you here for a season and for a purpose. Remember the children of Israel in their exodus from Egypt. It was God who brought them to that wilderness. And so it was God’s responsibility to provide for them.
And God did provide, even in the place of barrenness and hard stones and heat. He provided bread, heavenly manna, sweet like honey and cool and refreshing for each day of the week. And the people collected what they needed for their families.
And so Jesus taught his disciples to pray, Our Father, who art in Heaven, give us this day our daily bread. Day by day give us what we need. Help us to trust you, even in the wilderness place. Help us see the flowers in the grass and the birds in the sky and know that we are much more valued and loved by our Heavenly Father than we can even imagine or think.
Are you in the wilderness? Are you expecting and looking for God to provide your daily bread?