The Upper Room Daily Devotional of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Daily Bread" for Wednesday, 27 April 2016 with Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21

The Upper Room Daily Devotional of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Daily Bread" for Wednesday, 27 April 2016 with Scripture: Matthew 14:13 On hearing about this, Yeshua left in a boat to be by himself in the wilderness. But the people learned of it and followed him from the towns by land. 14 So when he came ashore, he saw a huge crowd; and, filled with compassion for them, he healed those of them who were sick.
15 As evening approached, the talmidim came to him and said, “This is a remote place and it’s getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the villages.” 16 But Yeshua replied, “They don’t need to go away. Give them something to eat, yourselves!” 17 “All we have with us,” they said, “is five loaves of bread and two fish.” 18 He said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 After instructing the crowds to sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a b’rakhah. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the talmidim, who gave them to the crowds. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and they took up twelve baskets full of the pieces left over. 21 Those eating numbered about five thousand men, plus women and children.
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Give me only my daily bread.[Proverbs 30:8 (NIV)]
One day as a friend and I were leaving work, he commented, “I sure got my daily bread today.” He explained that he had arrived at work feeling worried and insecure about personal issues. He had prayed for something to happen to help him just make it through the day. During the morning, three different people stopped to tell him what good work he was doing and how happy they were to have him on their team. These affirmations lifted his spirits and gave him the strength to face problems outside of work also. His final comment was, “Those three people may not realize it, but they reminded me that God loves me and is guiding me through my troubles.”
The miracle in today’s reading appears in all four Gospels and is usually called the feeding of the 5,000. But the miracle is even larger than that. Before Jesus fed the crowds physically, he nourished them in other ways. He taught them, encouraged them, and healed them. Jesus cared for their complete well-being.
When we pray to receive our daily bread, we are asking for more than just physical nourishment. Daily bread is also spiritual, mental, and emotional strengthening. God cares about our total well-being and will nourish us daily in many ways.
The Author: Gale A. Richards (Iowa, USA)
Thought for the Day: God is the source of the things that nourish me today.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for satisfying all our hungers as we pray, “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:2-4). Amen.
Prayer focus: Those who lack bare necessities---------------------