“And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full” (Mark 8:8, ESV).

The Lord knows what you need before you know you need it. This is most comforting in times of economic uncertainties and rising prices. It’s also comforting when storms, natural disasters, and chaos in society bring disruption to our daily routines.

Remember Adam (Gen. 2:7–17). The Lord made him, breathed life into him, and then set him in the garden. The Lord gave him all the trees and plants to eat. Did the Lord tell Adam to decide how he wanted to decorate the garden or which fruit he was hungry for? No. He graciously provided for Adam. Likewise, the Lord did not leave Adam to figure out which tree was the one that would kill him. The Lord spoke His Word to warn and protect Adam.

Next, remember the 4,000 (Mark 8:1–9). They had been with Jesus for three days. Did they start complaining about food? Did the disciples decide these people needed to eat? No. Jesus had compassion on them. Before they even asked, Jesus fed them so fully that there were baskets full of leftovers.

Since the Lord knows what you need before you do, He has compassion and graciously provides what you need for this body and life. Not only does He provide His Word that saves you, but He even gives the daily bread that sustains your body. In Jesus, you see God’s eternal promise to provide for both soul and body.

Did God wait for you to request His forgiveness? No. He graciously sent His Son to be born of a woman, born under the Law, then to suffer, die on a cross, and rise again long before you knew you needed Him. He provided His Word of life, His washing of baptism, and His Sacrament of the Altar to keep you in His gracious forgiveness.

Likewise, He “certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people.” And so “we pray in [the Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer] that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving” (Small Catechism, Fourth Petition).

Prayer:
“Feed Thy children, God most holy;
Comfort sinners poor and lowly.
O Thou Bread of Life from heaven,
Bless the food Thou here hast given!
As these gifts the body nourish,
May our souls in graces flourish
Till with saints in heav’nly splendor
At Thy feast due thanks we render” (LSB 774).

In Christ’s service,

Rev. Randy K. Asburry
Second Vice President
Missouri District