1 Samuel 21

“So the priest gave him (David) the consecrated bread, for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord. When the bread was removed, it had been replaced with warm bread.” 1 Samuel 21:6 (HCSB)

David has nobody he can count on. There is no Jonathan, Michal, or Samuel now. It is simply up to David to elude Saul, who is intent on killing him. But was David truly alone? David’s methods of self-preservation seem to testify that he feels he is alone, but his continued miraculous preservation indicates God is with him, whether David perceives God’s presence or not.

We understand David’s difficulty. We can relate to his panic and desperation. Note that the Bible is not recommending David’s methods of survival, only reporting them.

We do better to ask a different question: What does God seem to be doing here? Take note that in the confusion, danger, and fear, David received daily bread. Is it too much to say this whole chapter depicts a simple truth: The Lord sustained David? It was not something frivolous that David craved but a clear need. In our culture of abundant living, where the average poor American would be rich by world standards, perhaps we have lost the idea of “daily bread.” We get too caught up in what “brand” of bread. We complain, “Is it Wonder bread or whole wheat, a baguette, or a dinner roll?” But when we are truly starving, we crave only the Lord’s Bread from His presence. Of course, I speak of spiritual hunger, as well as the physical. Consider Jesus’ words:

“But He answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every Word coming out of the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 (HCSB)

Every Sabbath, twelve loaves of this bread were piled on a table in the holy place in the Tabernacle. They were (among other things) a quiet witness that the Lord sustains His people and supplies their needs. The next day, that holy bread became David’s daily bread.

There may be a word for us in David’s provision. Perhaps, you are under a heavy load, boxed in and pressed down under various vocational, emotional, spiritual, or circumstantial pressures. But are you still eating every day? At least once? Doesn’t God’s small provision in the midst of our “big” problems tell us something? Doesn’t it assure us that God has not yet cast you off? Perhaps, now Jesus’ words have a different ring.

“Give us day by day our daily bread…” Luke 11:3 (NKJV)