I was searching for something in my basement recently, but to no avail. My basement is unfinished, used only for storage and a bit crowded if truth be told. As I looked through my earthly, basement treasures, these words of Jesus came to mind –

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Even though Jesus spoke these words over two-thousand years ago, seems like He could have been talking about my basement (or my garage) today. Nothing much new under the sun. We still have moths. We still have rust. We still have thieves who break in and steal. And we still attempt to store up things or “riches” for ourselves. Although today we call this “hoarding.” There’s even a TV show about it and a whole profession dedicated to helping those who exhibit this behavior.

I’ve personally dealt with all three during my lifetime, moths, rust and thieves. Still, I seem to accumulate earthly possessions with the years. I don’t own a storage unit (yet), but that must be a pretty good business to be in, because I see these buildings full of storage units for rent everywhere I go. Reminds me of another story Jesus told –

“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)

Ok. Maybe the answer is not bigger barns or basements or more storage units. Maybe my security does not depend on my possessions or on me providing for myself. Maybe God wants me to trust Him to provide for me? In fact, Jesus said as much to His disciples –

“Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.’ ” (Luke 12:22-23)

Jesus then goes on to remind the disciples that God provides food for the birds and clothes the flowers in beautiful splendor. Therefore, God will most certainly feed and clothe His own children, those created in His image. Jesus concluded by saying –

“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:29-34)

Trusting God to be my Provider – in this culture of self-sufficiency, that is a very counter-cultural concept. Or maybe because we here in the west live in a culture of abundance and even excess, we don’t feel the need to trust God as our Provider. We tend to accumulate, to amass more than we need, and to store the extra in our “bigger barns” (additional or bigger storage units) just like the ones the rich man in the story built for himself. Given our human tendency towards hoarding things, it is noteworthy that Jesus included this request as a part of the prayer He was teaching His disciples to pray. Known today as The Lord’s Prayer, this is how Jesus prayed –

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. . . . ” (Matthew 6:9-11)

Another translation, the NLT, says it this way – “Give us today the food we need.”

Jesus didn’t ask for a week’s worth or a month’s worth or for any excess or abundance – just what would meet today’s need. Daily bread. Daily provision. Remind you of anything? Reminds me of the daily manna the Israelites received from God new every morning while they were wandering in the wilderness those forty years. Bread from heaven sustained them on their journey. They could not store this bread up for themselves. There was no need for the Israelites to store or to hoard the manna. The manna arrived fresh every morning – just enough for that day’s need.

They had no place to store it anyway, they were nomads living in tents, always on the move. They had no time to build “bigger barns” (they had no barns to begin with). They had no refrigerators. They were following God on a journey to their promised land and they needed to travel light. It would have been an added burden to have to stockpile, to store and then to transport extra food (aka manna) with them everywhere they went. Instead, God had a better plan. The food they needed to sustain them for their journey, came to them fresh every morning, delivered right to their doorstep (tent flap). No burden of excess to carry with them. Each morning’s manna was exactly what they needed for that day and that day alone.

The only instruction they were given was NOT to take more than they needed, NOT to store it up except on the day before Sabbath. On that day, they were to take a double portion. There would be no manna for them to gather on the Sabbath day.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow My instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days. . . . “

“Each one gathered as much as he needed. Then Moses said to them, ‘No one is to keep any of it until morning.’ However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.” (Exodus 16:4-5 & 18-20)

Remind you of the moths and rust, ruining our hoarded treasures that we store up for ourselves here on earth? I’m sensing a connection. Earthly treasures are temporal treasures. They will pass away. Better to be hoarding heavenly treasures instead. No moths, rust or thieves in heaven.

No hoarding means trusting God to provide. I love the picture painted in Psalms –

“The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:15-16)

“These all look to You to give them their food at the proper time. When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things.” (Psalm 104:27-28)

My Heavenly Father’s daily provision is enough, more than enough for me. His word says He wants to satisfy me, and you, dear readers, with our daily bread, which He supplies. Not weekly bread or monthly bread, but daily bread. God wants a day by day relationship with you and with me – not a weekly or a monthly or a yearly drive by to ask for what we need. I particularly like this prayer request from Proverbs and will make it my own –

“give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:8-9)

Lord, may I be content with, thankful for and joyful because of the daily bread I receive from Your open hand new every morning.

sincerely, Grace Day