SOLISSEA'S CORNER: PASS THE BREAD PLEASE!

Known as the “staff of life” the origin of bread can be traced back thousands of years to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, and even before recorded history. It has fed every civilization for thousands of years. Bread has a long history for a reason. It is a healthy and nutritious food that fills the stomach as well as the soul. Even the Lord's Prayer teaches us to request of God Give us this day our daily bread- meaning not merely loaves, but moral and spiritual sustenance.

The request for daily bread in the Lord’s Prayer had never manifest more clearly as when my mother was in a coma for seven weeks after having a severe brain hemorrhage. During that critical time when life and death were the moment-to-moment concerns, I learned to ask not for another week, or another month, or the rest of what I thought should be her life, but simply for whatever was needed to handle whatever the day brought. It is a lesson I will never forget. It was on July 24, 2006, eight days into her coma while sitting at my mom’s hospital bedside that I wrote this in my journal:

Where tomorrow is not promised, I have learned to ask only for daily bread.

There was no guarantee she would survive; there was no promise of her awakening; and there was certainly no prognosis as to how functional she would be if she did both survive and awaken. All we had was the very moment we were in and somehow that had to be enough because any other possibility was too unknown and far too overwhelming. It was not only my personal greatest test of faith, but also the best lesson in learning how to ask for and live on daily bread which is so essential to life. So, I would like to humbly share little slice of bread with my readers.

The reference to daily bread comes from the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament wherein, responding to the complaining Israelites, God provided for them a daily portion of manna or bread during their journey. The Israelites were on their way from Egypt to the land God promised to them, and about 30-ish days into their journey, their limited supplies began dwindling and their survival looked bleak. So, they did what most of us do in such circumstances and that is, they complained. Their corporate cry was:

Oh, if we had only died by the hand of the Lord back in Egypt!

(Exodus 16:3)

Modern day translation: If God was gonna kill us, we would have rather died slaves where at least we had food!

Modern day Christians marvel at how quickly the Israelites became ungrateful for their liberty and they were awfully whiny too! Hadn’t God just spectacularly and miraculously delivered the entire nation of people from slavery approximately a month before? Now, when their circumstances became unusually difficult and a little perplexing, rather than trusting that same spectacular and miraculous God, they were instead consumed with their present needs!

Thus, we can conclude that the Israelites had three characteristics that really weren’t working for them out in their wilderness experience:

1. They still had the slave mentality and therefore they were accustomed to walking by sight and not by faith;

2. They were completely engrossed in the present because Jesus had been promised, but not yet given; and

3. THEY WERE HUNGRY! When people get hungry they get cranky. And they were ALL hungry so they were ALL cranky!

So, what did God do? He provided them with bread. Yup. Bread. It was actually a type of substance likened to coriander seed which tasted like a honey wafer and which could be ground up and made into bread cakes.

God gave them bread. The staff of life. However, God in all His wisdom provided only enough for each day to teach them discipline and faith. God was teaching his people to walk by faith daily.

So I ask you, what is your difficult and perplexing circumstance?

A dear friend’s father-in-law just had a stroke a couple of days ago. Another dear friend has a sister with terminal illness (6 months or 10 years, they do not know) and a wayward daughter. An aunt and uncle just got some medical news in which they will have to face some level of uncertainty for their future. People are losing their jobs left and right and/or taking pay cuts just to keep working. Just about every person I talk to is facing some type of problem where an immediate solution is not available and the future prognosis is unclear. So what do we do?

Pass the bread please!

A loaf of bread has four basic ingredients: flour, yeast, salt, and water.

1. Flour = Faith! Flour is main ingredient of bread. It is the protein and nutrient life of the bread.

Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith takes you beyond your immediate problem into the realm of real possibility.

2. Yeast = Lightens and Softens! When added, yeast reacts with the flour and the other ingredients to lighten and soften the finished product.

Matthew 16:6 – Beware of the leaven… (of legalism or any other kind of stinkin’ thinkin’)

Anything that is not of faith (fear, hopelessness) will leave you heavy and flat, but sound doctrine will help you rise above your circumstance.

3. Salt = Flavor and Preserve! Without salt, bread is pretty bland! Salt both flavors and preserves the bread.

Matthew 5:13 – You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

Faith is very personal as each problem has its own unique set of circumstances. Your faith will not only serve as an example of hope to others, but when exercised, will preserve you from corruption (bitterness, envy, hatred, anger) and help you see your problem through successfully.

4. Water = God’s Spirit which combines all elements together for success! Without water, the basic ingredients for bread cannot combine chemically and process together for a successful loaf of bread!

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and who are called according to His purpose.

You didn't know God was the One who originally coined the phrase,
"It's all good!"?

God's Spirit uses all elements of life – the good and the bad, the physical and spiritual – and brings about the intended result for our benefit.

Whatever difficult or perplexing situation you or your loved ones are facing, just ask for a daily portion of faith buttered with grace so that you may rise above your situation and believe and hope for beyond what your present condition is.

Tomorrow is not promised.

All we are told to ask for is sustenance for this day,

and when asked for in faith, it will always be enough!