They Will Be Satisfied

Jesus directs us to ask God for our daily bread because we have a need to ask Him. It does us good to ask, for asking increases our awareness of our dependency upon God and builds a defense against ingratitude.

I find it greatly encouraging that the God of creation, who is infinitely holy and who holds the universe in His hand, cares that my physical needs are met. This implies that God regards our bodies as important. He designed them and is interested in the way they function.

Some Christians regard it as “unspiritual” to pray about the needs of the body, but, as Jesus pointed out, this is really where our personal petitions ought to begin. While Jesus endeavored to get His hearers to keep their values straight by saying that the spiritual was all important—”Seek first the kingdom of God” (Mt 6:33)—He nevertheless put the body in its rightful place, as being a matter of great concern. The Father, we are told, guarantees our physical needs if we seek first the kingdom of God.

Most of the promises in the Bible have to do with spiritual truth, but never to the exclusion of the physical. How much spiritual use would we be to our heavenly Father if He didn’t meet our basic physical needs? This is why I do not fear the future. In whatever way people might mismanage the resources which God has placed in the earth, I have confidence in the truth of the verse before us today: “They will be satisfied in days of hunger.”

Further Study

Jn 6:1-15; Ps 37:25; Jl 2:24; Lk 6:38

What was the disciples’ attitude?

How did Jesus show interest in physical needs