… but you just might find, if you try sometimes…. that you get what you need.”
These lyrics from a well-played song in our house lately (thanks to the Glee soundtrack, a la Rolling Stones), have reminded me of this idea. Not getting what you want – or what you think you want – but instead finding that you get exactly what you need, is a hard lesson. And it reminds me of the question, what do I really need – what do I just want? What is enough?
I want a lot of things; I see potential, options, security, rewards, connections, and how to change the world all out there on the horizon…. but what do I really need? Peace? Wisdom? Grace? I want answers, clarity, control, balance, beauty, and a fast car someday… but what do I need? Prayer? Patience? Strength for a day?
It’s like the Lord’s Prayer, when we intone, “Give us this day our daily bread.” What that phrase really means is – give us enough for today, give us manna out of this desert for one day, give us drink and sustenance for right now, give us yourself, Lord, for today. Daily bread. Enough for today – only. That can seem hard to navigate in our culture that is about saving, hoarding, accumulating, and seeing so far ahead. It can feel hard to only ask for a day’s worth of bread when you think you’re starving, or you would feel better with a few loaves in the pantry just for back up. But God is saying that we will get what we need from Him – each day. God also seems to be big on dependence and trust, as I’ve been in a season of learning, so this whole daily turning to God for what we need just for that day, means that we also rely more on God, and are less aware of all we see up ahead that we think we might need/want. It also has some powerful political implications for God desiring that everyone have enough, instead of just a few having too much and others literally starving. But that is another post…
Thank you God, for always giving me what I really need. Maybe my prayer needs to be – God, help me to see all that you give me, that I already have all I need, and to know what it is that I don’t need. Give me today my daily bread. Give everyone today their daily bread. Give us just enough for today.