Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11

Life is a balancing act, that’s for sure. Ideally, we have a healthy balance of sleep, work, and recreation. Ideally, we have a healthy balance of stress and relaxation, things that are challenging and things that are easy, time with people and time alone. The truth of the matter is that very few, if any, of us live in balance. Most of us cheat when it comes to sleeping—we don’t sleep enough. Most of us cheat when it comes to diet and exercise—we eat too much and don’t exercise enough. Most of us are out of balance when it comes to encouragement versus discouragement. Remember the balanced ratio of 5:1, five encouraging things for every one discouraging thing is what keeps us in the encouragement balance. And remember when you are talking to others how much encouragement versus discouragement you are giving.

I had a conversation recently with a friend of mine and we were talking about issues with teens and adults today and the subject of suicide came up. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems that this topic is coming up more and more today, not just with teens but with adults as well. We were discussing our thoughts on why these kinds of things happen. And he said something very profound that I want to share. Because it not only pertains to suicide but to many of our other life challenges. What he said is basically this:

I walk my dog two miles a day. Which adds up to sixty miles a month and 730 miles a year. That’s a lot of miles. I can handle walking the dog two miles a day. If I try to do a month’s worth of walking in a day, in other words, if I try to walk sixty miles in a day, I will probably die. My body can’t handle walking that much. If I try to do a year’s worth of walking in a day, I can’t, it’s actually impossible.

This is how our stresses work. When we try to handle a month’s worth of stress in one day, it’s like trying to do sixty miles of walking in a day. Trying to handle that much stress at once will be debilitating. If we try to handle a year’s worth of stress, or a lifetime’s worth of stress, we simply cannot do it. And perhaps this is one of the reasons why people turn to measures that are harmful, be it suicide, excessive drinking or eating, etc., because they are trying to deal with an amount of stress that we are simply not built to handle.

If we think too far ahead, anticipating stressful things that may not even happen, we will quickly sabotage our ability to function properly today. What future stresses cross your mind? Will my kid go to college? Will he get married? Will he have enough money to live on when I’m gone? Will I have enough money to retire on? Will my healthy be okay? Will I have to move? Will my job become obsolete? Will I get replaced by someone younger and less expensive? Will I suffer before I die—will I get cancer? Stroke? Dementia? Try to tackle all of these questions at one time and two things are guaranteed—you will not be able to function well in what you are presently doing, and your stress level will go up, affecting your overall health.

This is why, like the example of walking the dog two miles a day, the Bible tells us to worry about the stresses of today and not to look too far ahead. Because we are all able to “walk the dog” two miles a day, but sixty miles will kill us and 730 miles is impossible. Looking too far ahead on our stresses will make us sick and looking at a lifetime of stresses and wondering how we will cope with them might make us despair even of life itself.

Therefore, we should focus on the things that are right in front of us, the challenges of today. It is no coincidence that the Lord’s Prayer asks God to “Give us this DAY, our DAILY bread.” It doesn’t ask for our “yearly bread”. This phrase refers to when God sent manna from heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness in Exodus 16. The people were wandering in the desert. They were discouraged. And God told them He would give them bread/manna which they would find on the ground each morning, such as was sufficient for the day. (On Fridays, there would be double the amount so they would have enough for the Sabbath, so they wouldn’t have to gather it on the Sabbath and could rest.) He warned them not to store it up, otherwise it would get worms and be inedible. They had to trust God that He would provide for them on a daily basis. And we have to do the same. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, in praying the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we should ask God to give us the things we need in order to get through today, to be with us in the challenges of today, and to help us not get too far ahead in worrying about the challenges that lie beyond today.

On a given day, our needs are actually few. On a daily basis I pray for five things—safety (since I’m in the car every day), wisdom (to make good decisions), efficiency (to be focused on tasks at hand and get them done as efficiently as possible), patience (a perpetual challenge, and also the first quality of love), and to laugh (because I want to have at least one light-hearted moment each day). I have recently added a sixth thing to my prayers, asking God to give me an opportunity to serve someone. Thus, on a given day, I don’t pray about our son going to college, or about retirement, or other things that are in the far future. Today is the first building block towards the future. If today goes well, it’s one step closer to the future I hope to have. Plus, we can only handle so much stress, and the challenges of today will be stressful enough.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Focus on the needs and challenges of today, and enjoy the opportunities that today brings as well! Don’t try to “walk 60 miles” today. Just “walk two”

Today’s reflection is dedicated to Dr. Pete Copsis, a dear friend and valued encourager in my life.

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