Give Us Today Our Daily Bread. Or Apples.
You may have noticed my brief absence from the blogging and Facebook scene. Did you miss me? I missed you! Â We took my MacBook in to the Apple Store in Glasgow to get it fixed, because there were only a few days left on the warranty and it had several little glitches. We thought a few replacements might help it last a bit longer. Among other things, the screen did a funky thing a couple of times and it seemed like the battery was about to die. Anyway, I, as a result, had to experience Mac-drawals, and 11 days of occasionally stealing a moment on Mark’s laptop, until his was also in the shop and I eventually thought to myself — this is probably good and I should just let it go!
The amazing story, you may have also seen in a Facebook status update, is that while I was away from my MacBook (and decidedly getting other things done and enjoying the break) the Mac people were busy trying to sort out the graphics issue, replacing the logic board or whatever that is, and trying to sort out the display. I’d been concerned about the laptop dying soon because it was starting to make funny noises, but quietly decided in my heart, “God will take care of this, too.” So, on the last day as they were going through their final diagnostics, my MacBook decided to give up the ghost and died! Â It must’ve been a sad moment! Â But Praise the Lord — He knew all this would happen, and it happened in such perfect timing that they decided to just give me a BRAND NEW, updated MacBook with a year’s warranty, FOR FREE!
The lesson I’ve learned from all this, which we’ve been discussing around our flat recently, is to trust God for what you need every day, and don’t worry about tomorrow. When the Israelites were in the wilderness with nothing to eat, God provided enough manna for them to eat each day. Â And on Fridays, he doubled it so they’d not have to gather on the Sabbath. He knows what we need, before we even know it, and He is able to provide in ways we didn’t even consider.
Philippians 4 explains this really well when it basically says “Don’t worry about anything. Pray about everything.” (NLT) And Matthew reminded us not to worry about tomorrow, because each day has enough problems of its own. (See Matthew 6: 25-31) If we wake up each morning with an attitude of “Lord, give me what I need for today” we can set aside our worries about tomorrow, next week, or next month. We can focus on staying in step with the Holy Spirit of God — since God already knows what is going to happen, and is able to make a smooth path for us to navigate it.
The Sermon in a Nutshell: This simple truth is incredibly hard to live by. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Trust God for what you need TODAY. We bring the concern to Him. He brings the peace to us. It’s that simple.
xCC