Is There Any Hope for America?

Posted on November 3, 2026 by Steve Foster

Flag July 4th Independence DayI just returned from three weeks in Uganda and Egypt. It was a mission trip followed by a group tour. Every time I return from a trip overseas I find myself more and more appreciative of our nation.

I have been on mission trips or tours in Argentina, Romania, Moldova, Israel, Germany, Uganda, Egypt, France, Italy, and almost every Central American country, so I have seen a wide spectrum of cultures, economies, and governments. Each time I come back with a new appreciation for the blessing of being an American. No slight on any other nation. Just gratitude for the life, freedom, and blessings that I have been given.

I remember leading my first youth mission trip to Central America back in the 90s. The country we went to was in the midst of a drought and was also dealing with poverty and corruption on just about every societal level. The ministry there was challenging, stretching, and eye-opening. I will never forget returning to the States and watching as one of the youth got down on his knees in the airport and kissed the ground. In one sense, he intended his action to be humorous. But in another sense, he was expressing what everyone felt.

“It is good to be back home.”

I remember thinking that every young person would benefit from a trip overseas, particularly to an under-developed nation, just so they can appreciate what they have in the States.

We are blessed. And we are fools if we do not recognize it.

But returning to the States after this most recent trip has also left me with a profound sense of sorrow. Perhaps it was the fact that I returned in the midst of a heated mid-term election. There seems to be a heaviness in the air. A heaviness in my heart. Our nation is changing…or maybe it has already changed.

Anger. Division. Hatred. Fear. Discontent.

It almost seems fashionable to find all the reasons to disparage our nation.

I will never argue that our nation is flawless. We have our past sins and transgressions. We are far from perfect. But there is also something unique, valuable, and admirable in our history, constitution, government, and culture that is worth protecting and preserving.

So is there any hope for America?

Of course, there is. But it won’t be found in this next election. Our problems run much deeper than politics. An election is sort of like a blood test. It exposes what is already wrong with your health. It does not cure it.

With that in mind, here are four core issues which I believe have exposed our sickness as a nation.

1. The Loss of Civic Virtue

I am not sure if “civic virtue” is the right terminology. But the idea is that we have lost a sense of unity around core values and ideals. We have lost our center. Self-interest rules the day. There is no sense of a “higher law” or a “higher good” governing our actions.

Bottom line, freedom in a nation only works if there is a moral self-restraint in its people.

John Adams said it best:

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. (October 11, 1798)

Democracy–in essence, the collective will of the people–depends on that collective will being motivated toward the common good. It also depends on a moral foundation that sees every individual as created in the image of God, equal before the law, mutually connected to one another, and mutually accountable to their Creator.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) was fascinated with the democracy of America. It really was a “unique experiment” in the history of humanity. There had really been no other governmental system like it. Tocqueville recognized that it only worked because of the moral, religious foundation undergirding the governmental structure.

Whilst the law permits the Americans to do what they please, religion prevents them from conceiving, and forbids them to commit, what is rash or unjust. So religion, which among the Americans never directly takes part in the government of society, must be considered as the first of their political institutions; for if it does not give them the taste for liberty, it singularly facilitates their use of it.

I do not know whether all the Americans have a sincere faith in their religion, for who can search the human heart? but I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions. This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or to a party, but it belongs to the whole nation, and to every rank of society. (Democracy in America)

By losing our moral foundation…by rejecting any sense of natural law…by ignoring the fear of God…by seeking to disengage from the moorings of Christian faith…America is drifting in a sea of self-interest. And it will eventually crash on the rocks.

2. The Rise of Destructive Ideologies

When a nation loses its center, then every fringe group with an agenda quickly seeks to fill the vacuum.

What is perhaps strangest in our current political climate is the alliance of liberal progressives, radical communists, and fundamental Islamists. When you see signs such as “Queers for Palestine” or “No Kings Just Queens” at rallies calling for such diverse actions as “Defund the Police” and “Globalize the Intifada,” then you wonder what in the world is going on.

It is a strange mixture of LGBTQIA-ism, progressivism, Marxism, socialism, anti-Trumpism, and Islamic ideology all wrapped up into one.

Some of have called this the Red-Green Alliance. The cooperation of far-left liberalism with far-right radicalism.

It is an alliance that makes no sense until you realize that it shares a common enemy. It is an “anti” movement. It is against capitalism, against perceived colonialism, racism, sexism, ableism, and cisgenderism, against Israel and Zionism, against Christianity and Christian nationalism, against the nuclear family and traditional morality, and ultimately against America.

There really is no vision of the future beyond destroying what is present.

Karl Marx made no secret about his ultimate intent.

The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution! (The Communist Manifesto)

I wish to avenge myself against the One who rules above. …Then will I wander godlike and victorious through the ruins of the world and, giving my words an active force, I will feel equal to the Creator. (Poem, “Human Pride”)

And Islam, in its most fundamental form, is also motivated by conquest and submission of the entire world to Allah.

Jihad is carried out in order to achieve the ultimate goal of Islam–to establish Islamic authority over the whole world. Islam is not just a religion; it is a government too. That is why it always gets down to politics. Islam teaches that Allah is the only authority; therefore, political systems must be based on Allah’s teaching and nothing else. People fighting jihad consider themselves to have succeeded when a nation declares Islam as both their religion and their form of government. (Dr. Mark A. Gabriel)

One only needs to look at nations dominated by Islam to see that Islam is not naturally compatible with democracy or religious pluralism. It seeks to govern all aspects of life with both religious and political authority.

As Ayaan Hirsi Ali noted:

Islam is not a race. Islam is simply a set of beliefs, and it is not Islamophobic to say Islam is incompatible with liberal democracy. …

Islamist extremism isn’t merely another grievance-driven movement. It is an existential threat to Western society and to the values that sustain it. It rejects pluralism, despises freedom of conscience, and targets Jews and Christians precisely because those traditions stand for limits on power and the dignity of the individual. History shows this pattern clearly. (“The Intifada Comes to Australia,” Dec. 14, 2025)

This type of “Red-Green Alliance” was actually present in the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. As protests grew stronger and stronger against the Shah in Iran, Islamic radicals (angry with the secular reforms of the Shah) found a strange ally in French postmodern progressives like Michael Foucault. Foucault, an avid promoter of sexual freedom and liberal ideology, publicly supported the Ayatollah Khomeini’s efforts to overthrow the Iranian government. They shared widely divergent worldviews but a common enemy, primarily Western influence and American capitalism.

When this alliance succeeded in overthrowing the Shah in 1979, Foucault and other progressive liberals soon discovered that the Ayatollah had no interest in sharing power or promoting socialistic ideals. The Islamic Republic of Iran instead moved toward complete control by exiling and executing all political and religious enemies.

When an alliance depends solely on the destruction of a mutual enemy, then the elimination of the enemy does not bring about a utopian dream but often a totalitarian nightmare.

3. The Breakdown of the Family

I just finished teaching through the Ten Commandments in our sermon series through Exodus. What caught my attention for the first time was the centrality of the family in these commandments.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

This one positive command–in the midst of  all the Thou shalt not‘s–sits at the center of the Commandments. It is the “hinge” between the laws governing our relationship to God and our relationship to others.

Why?

Because in the context of Scripture, the family is central.

The first human institution is marriage (Genesis 2).

God’s redemptive covenant with Abraham promises to bring blessing on all the families of the earth (Genesis 12).

The Great Commandment in God’s law–loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength–is followed by the command to teach God’s Word diligently to your children in every aspect of life (Deuteronomy 6).

If love of God and love of neighbor is to be passed down from generation to generation, then it has to be primarily rooted and demonstrated in the family first.

God turning the hearts of parents to their children and children to their parents is the heart of any true societal transformation (Malachi 4).

So when the family breaks down, society inevitably breaks down.

It is that simple.

A child’s formative years are formed in the family.

And today, over 40% of children are born into unmarried households. In 1950, that number was 4%. A tenfold increase in 75 years is one of the most significant changes in our nation…and perhaps the most consequential.

Almost 80% of households were married couples in 1950. Today that number has dropped below 50% for the first time in our nation’s history.

Marriage is disappearing in our culture and many people are saying “good riddance!”

The rise of pornography, cohabitation, divorce, adultery, homosexuality, polyamory, and a whole host of other alternate sexual lifestyles has further contributed to marriage’s demise.

Yet the research consistently shows that children do best when they are raised by their married, biological parents.

In a very real sense, when we seek to destroy marriage and the family, we destroy ourselves.

4. The Build Up of the Government

As the family unit dissolves, the government evolves.

It gets bigger and bigger.

More and more government programs and agencies step in where the family has stepped out.

America was founded on the principle of limited government. Checks and balances were created to keep the government in check. Those who had lived under the tyranny of a monarchy longed for the freedom of democracy.

A bigger government may promise more to its people but it eventually takes more for itself. It may promise more compassion but it takes more control.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The history of the world proves this over and over again.

But it seems like more and more people today put their hope in government. Politics has become almost the only thing that people talk about. The next election…the next leader…is going to somehow “save America”…save the world…save me.

We have lost our way. We have lost our compass. We have lost our minds.

Robert Nesbit, a former professor of sociology at Columbia University, noted:

To destroy or diminish the reality of the smaller areas of society, to abolish or restrict the range of cultural alternatives offered individuals by economic endeavor, religion, and kinship, is to destroy in time the roots of the will to resist despotism in its large forms. (The Quest for Community)

In other words, despotism arises in cultures and nations when people abandon the smaller structures of family, church, and community and look more and more to government to fill these roles in their lives.

When government becomes everything, you are ultimately left with nothing.

So what is the solution? Where do we go from here?

When a person is sick, they can ignore the doctor, blame the doctor, or keep looking for another doctor to tell them what they want to hear.

Or they can receive the diagnosis and seek the cure.

I believe that there is hope for America but it will not be found in the next political election but rather in personal transformation.

It is easy to blame others for our problems. It is easy to pick enemies. It is easy to want someone else to make life better for us. It is easy to want the next political “superhero” to save the day.

It is hard to change.

In Jesus’ day, everyone wanted a “messiah” to defeat the Romans and save the nation.

Few wanted a Messiah that would defeat sin in their own life and save them.

Yes, we need good leaders. Yes, elections are important. Yes, we should vote. Yes, we should pray for a government that protects our rights, punishes evil, and rewards right behavior.

But, in the long run, true change happens one heart at a time.

And the only heart I can control is my own.

So the hope for America begins with me.

Do I love God?

Do I love my neighbor?

Am I willing to use what God has blessed me with to bless others?

Am I willing to repent of my own selfishness and pursue the good of others?

Am I willing to change?

And this is where Jesus comes in.

Because even if I am willing to change, I can’t change on my own.

A person with a heart condition may want to change but they can’t do surgery on themselves.

They need a doctor.

They need a surgeon.

In a real sense, they need a savior who can do what they cannot do to save their life.

That’s Jesus.

He is the hope for America.

He is the hope for every nation.

He is the hope for us all.

Posted in Government/Politics, Random Thoughts | 1 Comment

25 Years After 9/11

Posted on September 11, 2026 by Steve Foster

In May 2001, Liz and I were living in New Jersey. Some friends of ours wanted to take us on a dinner cruise in the New York harbor. We arrived early enough to walk along the water and admire the skyline of New York City. They snapped a picture of us in front of the Twin Towers. That picture still sits on our mantle to this day. It reminds us how quickly life can change, how uncertain the future can be, how never to take one day for granted.

Because four months later those Twin Towers would be gone and our world would never be the same.

I remember September 11, 2001.

I can almost relive its every moment. Sitting in a church staff meeting talking about my own personal woes (I was actually in traffic court the night before), when suddenly a lady in our church interrupted our meeting with the words I will never forget…

“Pray for New York! There are planes flying into buildings!”

How do you even begin to interpret that statement?

We ended our staff meeting early and found a TV. We turned it on and sat mesmerized at the screen. We could not process what we were seeing. It made no sense. It seemed surreal. Was this literally happening in a city 40 miles from where we were sitting? When we went outside, we could see the smoke plume of burning buildings beginning to form in the sky.

Yes, it was very real…and very shocking.

The next few hours were spent alternating between the TV and the phones. We were calling people in our church, many who worked in New York City or had relatives that did, trying to find out what was going on…trying to see if anyone that we knew was in those buildings.

No one in our church died that day. One person who worked in the Twin Towers was late for work, stuck on a bus in the Lincoln Tunnel. He would never complain about traffic jams again.

But people that people knew, some very closely, did die that day.

Over 3000 people. And then when the plane crashed into the Pentagon and one in the fields of Pennsylvania, we knew that this was an act of terrorism. An act of war.

Life would never be the same.

At that very moment, my wife was eight months pregnant with our third child. Fear gripped me. Uncertainty. Panic. What kind of world would my unborn child grow up in? What kind of world would all of my children grow up in? Was this the end of our nation as we know it?

I didn’t want our lives to change. I didn’t want our nation to fall. It is amazing how you can easily forget about your daily blessings until they are threatened.

We are blessed every day. And, unfortunately, we are forgetful every day.

We spend more time griping than being grateful.

That day I was grateful for every blessing that I had.

I took nothing for granted.

Neither did millions of others in our nation.

For a limited time in my lifetime, I sensed a national unity that I had never sensed before. We were in this together. We gathered in prayer. We talked with our neighbors. We put out an American flag. We volunteered to go to the city and help clean up. We praised God for our freedom and our blessings. We remembered what truly made our nation great.

For a brief moment, political differences were put aside. We were Americans first and foremost. We loved our nation and we prayed for its protection, renewal, and healing.

Now, 25 years later, I sit here and still wonder where we are going as a nation. What does the future hold? Will our nation survive? What kind of world will my boys, their wives, and any future grandchildren grow up in?

Fear can hit. Uncertainty. Panic. Discouragement.

Our world has changed…and not for the better. Any sense of national unity has evaporated. Partisan, political differences are more heated than ever. Few talk to their neighbors. Few thank God for the remarkable blessings of this nation. Some even hate our nation and want to see it dismantled.

The very forces that sought to destroy us on 9/11 now seem to be embraced.

How do we live in such a world? What do we do?

I come back to Scripture. I really have no other place to turn.

If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

A promise to Israel at the dedication of the temple in 950 BC.

But I think an abiding principle and promise to us as well.

What can we do when our nation is divided? In decline? In distress?

We can yell at the other side. We can blame every politician and person we do not like. We can curse the darkness.

Or we can humble ourselves. Get on our knees. Seek God’s face. And repent of our own selfishness, bitterness, divisiveness, and stubbornness.

It’s funny, and sad, that we would rather complain and get angry about the things that we cannot change than humble ourselves and change the things that we can change.

Love God. Love your neighbor.

It doesn’t get any simpler than this.

And never forget.

Never forget your blessings. Never forget to say “I love you.” Never forget to pray for this nation. Never forget to thank God for freedom. Never forget to take each day as a gift.

Never forget 9/11.

Posted in Random Thoughts | 4 Comments

The Necessity of Awe

Posted on July 18, 2026 by Steve Foster

My wife and I just returned from the Canadian Rockies. It was one of the most beautiful places that we had ever seen. Snow-capped mountains. Turquoise lakes. Rushing, clear mountain streams. Wildlife and nature all around us. Absolutely, stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful.

Apparently we are not the only ones who think this. As we hiked and toured through Jasper, Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, and Banff, we met people from all over the world. India. Columbia. Great Britain. Denmark. Australia. Argentina. Thailand. Ukraine. China. Japan. Different ethnicities, languages, skin colors, clothing, religions, and, I’m sure, political persuasions.

But there was something unique and beautiful that brought everyone together. No matter where a person was from, they had a camera or a phone and, just like us, they were trying to capture the splendor, remember the moment, share the transcendence with others.

It got me thinking.

Maybe awe is a necessity.

Maybe awe is what we are missing.

Maybe awe is something that we all could use a little more of.

Biblically, theologically, and practically, I believe that we were made to worship.

We have a hunger for the transcendent.

We want to be awed.

We are uniquely created in this way.

It is humans who gather by the thousands, in stadiums all over the world, to watch sports, to attend concerts, to cheer, to chant, to sing, to be awed.

And if we miss the event, then we watch it on TV or revisit it on YouTube, wanting to see the “highlights,” the moments that capture something incredible, something amazing, something that commands, demands, expands our wonder.

You don’t see animals doing this. There are moose, marmots, birds, bears, cow elks, and chipmunks all over Banff and none of them are gathered together in groups, staring at the mountains, taking pictures, ooing and ahing at the beauty around them.

You have never seen a group of animals in a circle watching another animal doing tricks, jumping around, and showing off his skills to the others.

This is a uniquely human trait.

We were created to worship.

David Wallace Foster perhaps said it best in his renowned commencement address at Kenyon College.

In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.

At the core of everything that we think, say, and do is the element of worship. What do we worship? What dominates our mind? Where is our focus? Where is our heart?

That is why I think awe is a necessity.

Awe does at least four things to us.

1.  Awe humbles us.

When you stare at the mountains and see the glory and majesty around you, it has a way of reminding you of how small you are and how big the universe is around you.

Liz and I went on a late-night hike just to see the stars on the top of Mount Standish. As we looked up, we found ourselves literally “looking up.” You want to sing. You want to try to take it all in. You even want to try to take a picture (which is hard to do in the middle of the night!).

It is no wonder that one of David’s greatest psalms (Psalm 8) was written as he stared at the same night sky that we saw.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

We all could use a little humility. And awe helps us find it.

2. Awe enlarges our perspective.

In the craziness of life, the fast pace, the running to and fro, the stressful demands, the annoying traffic, the ubiquitous noise, it is easy to develop a myopic view of life. Everything shrinks in. You get caught up in yourself. You can’t see past your own nose.

Awe expands your vision.

It reminds you that there is something bigger out there than your own little world.

It reminds you that there is something bigger out there than the talking heads telling you that all that matters is the news of the day

It reminds you that you are part of a bigger world, a bigger universe, a bigger story.

It is not all about me.

There is something greater out there.

And unless I am willing to see it, then I will miss the most important things in life.

3. Awe leads us to gratitude.

I don’t know how to describe it but there is something that wells up in you when you see something majestic, something glorious, something beautiful. You want to hold onto it. You want to share it with others. You want to give thanks to someone.

Of course, I think that “someone” is God.

It is interesting that Paul says the first step away from God is when you see the glory of creation and you refuse to give thanks.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:20-21)

If that is the first step away from God, then it would make sense that the first step back to Him would be simply learning to be in awe of the creation around you and to give thanks.

It is a gift to you.

It is an invitation to worship.

C. S. Lewis, in his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, describes these moments as “Joy.” Not joy in small letters. But Joy capitalized.

All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still ‘about to be’.

Even as an atheist, Lewis could not escape these shots of awe, these moments of transcendence, this desire to give thanks, this hunger for Joy.

That’s why he finally surrendered to God. He called it being “surprised by Joy.”

Lewis then gave this practical advice.

Shut your mouth; open your eyes and ears.

In a world where there is a lot of talking but a lack of thanking, maybe the best medicine is a good shot of awe.

4. Awe points us to God.

This is where it all leads.

Back to God.

We were created to worship. We were created to be in relationship with Him. We were created to love and be loved.

Sin has turned us inward. Sin has made us self-focused. Sin has narrowed our vision. Sin has darkened our hearts. Sin has distorted our minds.

Awe calls us out of this.

Awe calls us to a greater vision.

Awe calls us back to our Creator.

Awe is not enough but it is a necessity.

Awe reminds us that we need God.

Who else can you thank when you see the glory of creation?

Do you really believe it was all put together by random chance?

Can you really deny your hunger for transcendence?

Can you really resist the love of a God who not only created you, but also entered your world and died for you?

Yes, I know I jumped from Banff to the Bible, from Lake Louise to the Lord Jesus Christ.

But I really don’t think it is that big of a leap.

At least allow yourself to be in awe of the creation around you.

Learn to shut your mouth and open your eyes.

Humble yourself.

Enlarge your perspective.

Give thanks.

And be still and know that He is God.

Posted in Chewable Wonders | 5 Comments

The Things That Matter

Posted on June 16, 2026 by Steve Foster

My parents celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this weekend.

70 years!

What a testimony of faithfulness.

My parents did not have it easy. When you know their story, there is nothing inherent in it that would predict they would end up at this point. An abusive background. A poor upbringing. An early marriage. A lot of financial uncertainty. A lot of moving around. Their first five children born in their first six years of marriage.

But they stayed together. Fought through the difficulties. Remained true.

No fanfare. No accolades. No awards.

There is really nothing special about their story. No news station has interviewed them. No podcaster or influencer has sought them out. No magazine has featured their journey.

They are two simple Midwesterners who met in a small town, got married younger than they planned, had more kids than they expected, had more trials than they wanted, and just tried to make things work.

And they stayed together.

Six kids. One dying early from cancer.

Twenty-three grandchildren.

Seventeen great-grandchildren (and more on the way).

Seventy years of marriage.

Only one word describes this…

Faithfulness.

Commitment lived out over time.

It is what the Bible says is the ultimate measure of a follower of Christ.

Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

It is what our Lord applauds in the final evaluation of life.

“Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” (Matthew 25:21)

I have often taught on the importance of faithfulness but I am not sure if I have ever understood how important it is…how unique it is…how inimitable it is.

Faithfulness cannot be faked.

It cannot be AI-generated.

It cannot be counterfeited.

Time will eventually expose it.

The very genuineness of faithfulness is its genuineness.

Time is the ultimate verification.

In our world of instant everything. Instant information. Instant fame. Instant wealth. Instant access. Instant attraction. Instant gratification. It is hard to find something that is going to last. Something real. Something enduring. Something foundational.

But I think we all long for it.

We long for something that can stand the test of time.

My parents’ marriage stood the test of time…and it is still standing.

I watched this weekend as my Mom and Dad sat in the living room, holding hands, reading their Bible, and praying together.

I watched as they loved on their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren, their friends, and their church family.

I watched this morning as my Mom came out of surgery (yes, she had back surgery scheduled just a few days after their 70th anniversary celebration) and my Dad came into her room, held her hand, smiled at her, and kissed her.

And I continue to watch their marriage get stronger every day. What started off rocky eventually became a rock. What started off bitter eventually became sweet.

And what held it all together was the goodness, grace, providence, and faithfulness of God.

Their faithfulness is built on the faithfulness of God.

And that’s when it hit me. Our world is selling people a bill of goods. People are running after the latest thing, the newest thing, the most popular thing. Things seem to move faster and faster to keep people from thinking deeper and deeper.

Things are available in an instant…but they only last for an instant.

The really important things in life take time.

The really important things in life endure time.

The really important things in life extend beyond time.

My parents’ faithfulness is just a small picture of God’s faithfulness.

My parents’ love endured because God’s love for them never failed.

He loved them before they even knew Him.

He protected them before they even acknowledged His hand.

And He saved them through the precious sacrifice of His Son.

I am a witness of God’s grace.

I am a recipient of God’s blessings.

And I am a son of two amazing parents.

Posted in Random Thoughts | 3 Comments

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Posted on June 3, 2026 by Steve Foster

Most of us are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

It is a beautiful prayer. A simple prayer. A model prayer.

Jesus teaches us how to pray to our heavenly Father. No public show. No long-winded monologues. No vain repetitions. No pretense. No pride. No hypocrisy.

The prayer as a whole has seven petitions. The first three are focused on God. The next four are focused on our own needs and requests.

  1. Let Your name be set apart and magnified.
  2. Let Your kingdom come to earth.
  3. Let Your will be done on earth just as it is done in heaven.
  4. Give us this day our daily bread.
  5. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
  6. Lead us not into temptation (or into the place of testing).
  7. Deliver us from evil (and the evil one).

Sitting right in the middle, connecting our focus on God’s glory and our own practical needs, is the request for “daily bread.” You could say it is the heart of the prayer.

But what does it mean?

On the surface, it is simple. As we face a new day, we are asking God to give us the sustenance that we need for the day. Provide for us. Guide us. Strengthen us.

But what makes the request so intriguing is the one word translated “daily” in English. In the original Greek language, it is the word, epiousios. This Greek word is only found, in all the known ancient Greek language, in this prayer, as recorded in Matthew and Luke’s gospels (Matthew 6:11; Luke 11:3). In other words, we do not know exactly what it means. It appears to be a word crafted and created specifically for this prayer…and used nowhere else.

Theologians have debated its meaning for centuries with no firm conclusions.

Etymologically, the word appears to be the combination of two Greek words, epi- and ousios. Epi is a prefix, a preposition, that generally means “upon, over, above.” We can recognize it in such English words as epidermis (“over skin”) and epitaph (“over a tomb”).

The second part of the word, ousios, is a little harder to discern. It is a Greek word that carries such meanings as “substance, being, essence, or existence.”

So putting these two parts of the word together, we have something like “over substance” or “upon being” or “above essence.”

You can see the difficulty in understanding the exact meaning of the word.

But though the exact meaning is enigmatic, most Bible scholars acknowledge that, whatever the word means, it alludes back to the idea of manna in the Old Testament.

In Exodus 16, God’s people are starving. They are without bread and out in the middle of the desert. There are no resources available. There is no grocery store nearby. They are in dire straits. And like they do so often, they start to complain and grumble and question why Moses (and God) had ever led them into such a desolate land and a miserable existence.

Moses cries out to God and God does something miraculous. He rains down bread from heaven. Every morning, as the dew evaporates, there is a layer of bread all over the ground. It is wafer-textured, coriander seed-looking, honey-flavored bread.

Psalm 78:25 calls it “the bread of angels.”

It had to be the most nutritious, delicious, healthy food that man ever tasted and ate. It was what we would call a “superfood.” Or more accurately, a “super-superfood.” It was beyond anything that man had ever seen before. In fact, the name “manna” literally means “what is it?”

Every morning…every day…for forty years while the Israelites are in the wilderness, God provides them with just the right amount of bread that they need for the day. Nothing more, nothing less. Exactly sufficient for the day.

Knowing this background helps us understand the meaning of epiousios. It means something like “super-substance,” something that comes from above, something that comes upon you, from outside you, giving you the exact strength and sustenance that you need for the day.

No wonder the Gospel writers had to invent a new word!

So now what does it mean from a practical standpoint? How do we find this “super-substance”? How do we experience this “above-sustenance”?

Our Catholic friends point to the Eucharist. It is an interpretation that has been around since the 4th century with the writings of Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome. After all, what else could “super-substance bread” be? But this interpretation fails on many accounts. First of all, the disciples would have absolutely no idea what this would mean. The Eucharist was nowhere in their thinking at this time. Plus, the very idea that Jesus is saying that every day you need a priest to transubstantiate bread into the body and blood of Jesus so that you can eat it every day of your life goes against the very simplicity and practicality that Jesus is teaching in this prayer. This kind of interpretation is called eisegesis, reading into the text what you want to read into the text.

Instead, we go back to the story of manna in the wilderness. This is what Jesus would be alluding to. This is what the disciples would be thinking. This story would be ingrained in their heads from the time that they were young.

Deuteronomy 8:3 makes it clear what God was teaching Israel through the gift of manna.

And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

In Jesus’ own experience in the wilderness (in Matthew 4 which immediately precedes the Sermon on the Mount), He makes it abundantly clear what enables a person to endure testing, withstand temptation, and overcome the evil one.

It is written…It is written…It is written…

In fact, Jesus’ first temptation was to turn stones into bread and He replied with the words of Deuteronomy 8:3. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

It is the Word of God that is our daily manna from heaven.

The Word of God is our bread, our milk, our meat, our light, our sword. Our sustenance, our guidance, our protection for each day.

God created the entire universe with His spoken Word. He presently sustains the universe with His spoken Word. Upholding all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3).

Even physicists are beginning to recognize that when you examine the universe down to its most basic level you find two things…energy and information. The universe around us is literally pulsating and proclaiming the Word of God.

David sang about the Word of God, saying that it converts the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, and enlightens the eyes. It is more valuable than gold and sweeter than honey. (Psalm 19)

Honey-flavored manna.

So what am I asking for every day?

I am asking God to give me the sufficient, sustaining, strengthening sustenance that comes from His Word.

I need to know His truth every day. I need to hear from Him. I need to meditate on His Word, chew on it, digest it, make it part of my daily diet.

The blessed person is the one who delights in God’s Word and meditates on it day and night. He will be like a tree planted by rivers of water, bringing forth fruit in its right season, never withering, always flourishing. (Psalm 1)

All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever. (1 Peter 1:24-25)

Lord, each day, give me Your super-sustaining, super-essential, super-strengthening Word to help me through the day. May I latch onto Your truth. May You put a verse, a song, a promise from Your Word into my heart that will carry me through the difficulties that I will face and enable me to overcome every temptation and trial that comes my way.

Give me this day my daily bread. 

Give me Your truth.

Give me Your Word.

Give me Jesus.

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