Tuesday, July 10, 2007

In Other Words: Daily Reliance




We have a little Sunday routine in our house. As we are leaving church there will be an exchange something like this:
German or MiPa: "ok home to take a nap"
Jewel: "no we need to eat lunch first"
German: "that's what we said, nap time"
Jewel: "no lunch. we always eat lunch before nap"
MiPa: "we had lunch yesterday, today we will just take a nap"
Jewel: "nooooooo mom, lunch!"
MiPa (to German): "why do they expect us to feed them every day?"
mass giggles in the back seat. Then we go home and have lunch before naptime.

It's good fun. The girls always giggle. They know that it is all a joke. But there is truth to it. They need to eat everyday. Each time they sit down for a meal it is because they currently need nourishment. The meals from the day before or the week before do not meet the needs of growing children. They expend the energy and need it to be replenished.

Our faith walk is much the same. Jesus taught us to pray for "daily bread." He also teaches us that He, Himself, is the "bread of life." I need Him everyday. My "daily portion" of Him the day before is not going to sustain me through the difficult times of today. Yes, He is still my saviour everyday and He still cares for me, but in order for me to truly utilize the glorious resource of Jesus in my life, I need to daily ask Him to be Lord. I need to daily bow my head, my heart and sometimes even my physical knee to Him and say "today you are Lord of my life; today I rely on you to lead me where You want me to go."

It is not always as easy as it sounds. Somedays I am busy and I get to midday wondering why everything is so difficult. Then I realize, I'm relying on me not on God. Somedays are so jumbled and chaotic I think I'll read my Bible later--only to find later never comes. Somedays I am just sure I can handle it on my own, but I can't. It all is so much easier to cope when I am trusting Him with my day. You see, the daily reliance on Him is for His sake: worship Him and give Him rightful domain in my life and it is for my sake: to remind me that I am not capable without His Hand guiding and leading my life.


"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing yet had been done."
~ C.S. Lewis ~



Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
Lamentations 3:22-24


Father God, I give you today. I lay it at your feet--with all its hopes and expectations, with all of its frustrations and joys. I give it to you. Please give me the portion of you that I need to go through this day. Help me to rely on you for today and not worry about the past or the future. Today is what we have. I am trusting you with it. In Jesus' name...Amen

To read what others are writing about this quote, please visit Iris at Sting my Heart. I know you will be blessed!

16 comments:

Denise said...

Such a lovely post, bless you dear.

The Open Range Camping Family said...

We think alike!

It is that daily taking up your cross and learning to follow Christ and in that relying on Him alone.

Anonymous said...

Amen, amen! Blessings...

JHS said...

One of my favorite hymns: Great is thy faithfulness! Wonderful post! (I joke that my two boys are so demanding because they ask me the same question every day: "What's for dinner?" and I say, "I fed you last night!")

Cheryl said...

Very well said...I went with the "daily" part and so did you, but I like the daily food message! So applicable.

Sharon Brumfield said...

God has really been showing me this lately.I need His food everyday. A truth from His word to meditate on to keep me on the right track.
Good thoughts.
I enjoyed this reading.

Aunt Angie said...

I LOVED that!!! How neat! and---the verse in Lamentations is so precious....new every morning!
Be blessed----you truly blessed me today!
Angie

Cyndee@Riezzee's Place said...

I picked the same verses from Lamentations. Thanks for reminding me that we need this "daily" dose of God's word.

Believer said...

Amen! Nourishment! God is always poking and prodding us, but all to often busy life takes priority. Thanks for reminding us that tomorrow we can begin again.

Heavenly Voice

Anonymous said...

Great thoughts, very well written. I especially enjoyed your opening analogy. Excellent!

Thanks for stopping by my site, too.

Anonymous said...

You are always able to simplify the complex with your words. Our 'daily bread'.....perhaps I need to get a 'point system' in place just like Weight Watchers...it would enable me to track my nourishment meter more efficiently...before I fall flat on my face from malnutrition!!

Tami said...

What a cute analogy to this week's quote. I can just see your girls giggling in the back seat! Indeed His mercies are new every morning.

Changed by His Love said...

I love the conversation between you and the girls - what a vivid picture I got of needing daily bread. Thank you for sharing!

eph2810 said...

Miriam, I think you have made a great point with the lunch after church, before nap-time. What a great illustration.
I so agree with you, if I ask the Lord to be Lord over my day, my day seems a little less hectic. I like to pray before my feet hit the ground in the morning. But the morning I rush out of bed, because I laid there too long, are usually the days that I don't seem to get a hold on.

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this week's IOW quote.

Be blessed today and always.

Faerylandmom said...

Wow. That last paragraph before the quote is exactly where I am. Exactly! I am so very glad for that scripture you shared. It was in my mind too, only I couldn't find the reference...

Hmmm...maybe, just maybe, I need to crack open my Bible more often. :)

Bonnie W said...

Thanks Miriam for visiting my post and letting me know about the link!

Great post from you as well. I always enjoy visiting with you on Tuesdays.

Bonnie