“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

Give and Take

When thinking about how much Jesus gives me each day, I realized that no matter what Jesus gives, Satan tries to take. Jesus is a giver, and Satan is a taker. Jesus gives rest, peace, comfort, healing, restoration, grace, faith, forgiveness, eternal life, contentment, salvation and so much more. The list is endless.

God gives us His many promises in His Word: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give yourest” (Matthew 11:28); “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7); “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26);  “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for Iam your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10); “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

On the contrary, Satan tries to take our joy, peace, trust, and faith, and turns things upside down.  He causes us to doubt, to wonder if God is really making a difference in our lives, to fear and to lose hope, to isolate us, to make us feel unloved. Satan twists God’s promises to us. Did God really say that? A little sin won’t mess you up, no one will know about it—you are so good most of the time. Where is your God now that you are in trouble? You can’t serve God after what you’ve done! Why would a God of love allow such a bad thing to happen to you? The list is endless—same story, different day.

Every day we face the choice to give or take as we push Satan away and pull in close to Jesus, where we are called His beloved. Do we want to give Satan our peace, joy and contentment and try to figure everything out on our own? Or do we want to take everything we need for our day from Jesus and live in daily peace, joy and contentment where He has us this very day? “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35), “I am the true vine” (John 15:1), “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Life is not always perfect and some days are harder than others, but choosing to take from Jesus what we need for the day is always the best choice.

Thank You, Lord, that Your nature is always about giving—You gave Your life so we can have life and to enjoy it to the fullest.