Independence Day: A Day To Declare Your Dependence!

July 4th—the day the citizens of the United States celebrates their most treasured national holiday—the signing of the declaration of our independence from England. Our chests swell with pride as fireworks fill the sky to the music of John Phillip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” and our eyes moisten with gratitude as we remember the sacrifice of countless numbers of patriots who gave their lives to give us what we now enjoy—our freedom. What a great holiday—Independence Day.

But as much as we enjoy the Fourth of July, there is something better than celebrating Independence Day once a year, and that is declaring our dependence every day of the year. You see, the best freedom, the strongest security and the highest happiness comes from the practice of acknowledging Father God as the Lord of all creation and the rightful ruler of our lives. National independence is an amazing thing, but it doesn’t even come close to comparing to spiritual dependence! And it is through declaring our dependence on God that we discover what it truly means to be free.

That’s why in the world’s most powerful prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray these simple words, “give us this day our daily bread.” Simply put, to pray this prayer is to declare our dependence daily.

You might find it interesting that this the only time in the entire Bible that this particular Greek word translated as “daily bread” is used. In fact, this word baffled scholars and translators for years because they couldn’t find any record of it in any of the ancient manuscripts of Greek literature—sacred or secular. Then in the 1940s the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and in those fragments—both biblical and secular documents—this word, “daily” was found. And scholars learned that the word was used for a daily shopping list of that which was perishable and would only be good for today. It literally meant “the bread that suffices for this day.”

That brings up an important point to what Jesus was saying: That even though God is our provider, his promise to provide is provisional. In other words, his promise of provision is not a blank check. Jesus deliberately chose this word “daily” not because God likes to hear us beg, but to teach us the importance of coming to God and expressing our dependence on him day-by-day.

Asking for daily bread is hard for us to relate to because most Americans have today’s food and tomorrow’s food and next week’s food sitting in the freezer. Our need for daily bread has been forever skewed by the age of Costco. We no longer go out to the garden to pick dinner, or to the market to buy that night’s meal. We go to Costco!

Costco is not a place; it is an experience. It is not the size of a grocery store; it’s the size of a small town. Employees there don’t use box cutters; they drive forklifts. Your grocery cart is the size of a Volkswagen. You don’t walk down an aisle, ground control crews guide you down a runway. You don’t pick up individual items, you pick up a pallet. When you check out, you make a payment similar to a car payment. Then you haul it home and think, “Where are we going to put this stuff?” Do we really need to buy toilet paper 48 rolls at a time? Then sometimes when we get down to, say, like 36 rolls, we go buy another 48 rolls. 84 rolls of TP…seriously, are we really ever going to need that much?

The point is, in 21st century America, daily bread is not much of a felt need. But even still, that daily bread comes from God and it can be taken away in a heartbeat. We should never forget that, nor get into the habit of taking God’s provision for granted! Go look in your refrigerator, or freezer, or cupboard, or closet…that came from God!

And even if daily bread is not your need, you have other needs that are pressing: A difficult marriage, a wayward child, a financial meltdown, an addiction, an emotional disorder, a life-and-death battle with cancer.  It may not be for food, but your need for God’s daily provision is still just as great.

Remember in the Old Testament when God provided manna for the Israelites to eat—but only a day at a time. They could only collect enough manna for that day—they couldn’t store it in Costco size cases. Why did God do it that way? So that every 24 hours they would have to trust God to meet their needs. That’s where the verse came from, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut. 8:33)

What does that mean? That God has designed it so that we must come back to him daily, because he is the source of all that we need. That’s why Jesus taught us to ask God daily to keep us ever mindful that God himself is the source of our life.

What is your manna? What is it that every 24 hours drives you to say, “God, I’m going to trust you for this because you are my only source”?

Let me remind you that whatever your need is today, God has promised to meet it. So go ahead—boldly, gratefully and expectantly declare your dependence on God today! Then do it again the next day and the day after that. Declaring your dependence daily on God is not only a great way to honor  him, it is the best way to live!

Prayer: Lord, today I happily declare my dependence on you. You are my source and my provider. I look to you to give me every good and perfect gift. You have always supplied my every need, and for that I am grateful. And because you are covenantly faithful, I have no doubts that you will take care of tomorrow’s provisions as well—so I thank you in advance for them. Today, I pray that you will give me everything I need to live the abundant life that you sent your Son to provide. Supply all of my needs according to your riches in glory, and in your rich supply, may I be living proof of a loving, generous, faithful Father. And if the thing that I request today is in your plans for me to receive in heaven instead, your will be done!