“Bigyan mo kami ngayon ng aming pagkain sa araw-araw.”

Mateo 6:11

How do you budget your money? Araw-araw mo bang nililista ang expenses mo? May natitira ba sa suweldo mo, o bahagi na ng buhay mo ang “petsa de peligro,” ‘yun bang kahit anong effort mo, hindi talaga magkasya ang pera mo?

Kapag nae-experience natin ito, many of us are tempted to compare ourselves to others. We end up saying things like:

Buti pa yung influencer na fina-follow ko sa social media. Ang bata-bata pa, may bahay at kotse na.

Buti pa ang paborito kong artista. Kahit tumigil sa pagtatrabaho ngayon, kaya niyang mabuhay kasi yung katumbas ng lifetime income ko, kinita na niya sa iilang taon lang.

Bago mo sila gawing role models ng financial goals mo, let’s look back at what happened to Israel pagkatapos nilang makalaya sa slavery sa Egypt. They knew that Moses was leading them in the journey towards God’s Promised Land. Pero noong kumukonti na ang supply nila ng pagkain, instead of believing that God will provide, they started to complain. 

This is what the Lord did: He provided food for His people — manna from heaven, but only enough for one day at a time. Bawat umaga, kailangan nilang lumabas para kumuha ng sapat na supply para sa araw na iyon. May ilang hindi naniwala that God’s provision will arrive the next day kaya nagtabi sila ng extra, pero bulok na ang sobrang manna paggising nila. 

Now we are not saying that it is wrong to save and prepare for the future. Pero kapag nagkakaroon tayo ng anxiety dahil pakiramdam natin hindi magpuprovide si Lord ng pangangailangan natin, we should check our hearts. We should fill it with God’s word, which says that God’s love is steadfast, at ang Kanyang kahabagan at kalinga ay walang katapusan.

May dahilan kung bakit itinuro ni Jesus that we should pray for our needs on a daily basis. This is meant to teach us to depend on the Lord and not on jobs, our situations, or our own abilities. Sa Kanya lang tayo puwedeng humugot ng tunay na security.