Sunday, February 22, 2009

Chicken Little Knew a Thing or Two

The news these days is fairly dismal. It's hard to know what to expect. Will we have a job? Will we be able to find work enough to pay the bills? Will we lose our home? What will we eat? What's going on? When will this get better? Can it get better? What does it mean? Can you imagine what the families on the borders of the crumbling Roman Empire felt when barbarians first started to infiltrate that which had previously been so solid? What about Medieval times? Or how about the countless families, towns and countries caught up in wars over the centuries? The Great Depression? Are we really any different?

I sure don't have the answers, but I know the One who does. And I know that countless generations before us have asked the same questions. Over and over in my mind I have found myself clinging to the Lord's Prayer in a new light. "Give us this day our daily bread..." has new meaning. It isn't just about the bread. It's about clinging to the Lord's grace today - and acknowledging that we need Him. It's about focusing on today's responsibilities and joys, and leaving the uncertainty of tomorrow well enough alone. After all if we are blessed with another dawn, God will be there. Our daily bread is about the here and now - the people, the chores, the smiles, the heartaches, every breath.

I suspect the coming months will hold a great deal of change for many of us. How will we greet and accept the changes? Will we pull together as a nation? As a people of God? As families? My prayer for my family and yours is that God will give you the daily bread appropriate to the day.