Today's Strength

Year 6-Day 17: Today, I am grateful for today's strength.

These past few year, "The Lord's Prayer has become a bit of on obsession with me. When you consider it was given as a model... a pattern... an example of how to prayer it becomes very precious and powerful. 

It is isn't long or fancy. It is simple and power packed. Today, as I read this Max Lucado quote, "Give us this day, our daily bread." popped into my mind. Here is the quote:

"The key is this: meet today's problems with today's strength. Don't start tackling tomorrow's problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow's strength yet. You simply have enough for today." -Max Lucado

"Give us this day, our daily bread." God provided daily bread in the form of manna for forty years in the wilderness to the Israelites with Moses as their leader. In fact, they were not allowed to keep any manna overnight. If they saved it, it would spoil before morning. God wanted them to trust his provision daily. Jesus echoes God's desire for us to lay our needs at his feet daily in the Lord's prayer when the disciples asked, "How shall we pray?" or asked "Teach us to pray."

Powerful and present... that is our Lord... when we invite him near. In our own strength, we crumble. In his strength, we get through and press on. His strength is always enough when we invite him to be our source of peace and our guide. 

Jesus reminds us to not worry or fret about tomorrow, the weather or what we will wear. He provides. Worry zaps our strength and sows doubt. 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"-Matthew 6:25-27 

When anxiety causes us to doubt if we are strong enough to face whatever trial is in the way, whatever tough thing that must be done or the unexpected grief... remember that His strength is enough. Cast out fear with trust. Don't tackle tomorrow until tomorrow and never tackle it alone. Trust His hand and his heart for your "daily bread". 

Today, I am grateful for today's strength... by His provision.