“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Matthew 6:11

In our day, there’s all kinds of fuss about gluten, GMO’s, and all things bread related. Bread has been one of the most commonly consumed foods in the world for a long time. We obviously need food to live and bread has become a word that represents our sustenance. We get our nourishment from what we eat. You may be familiar with the old saying: “You are what you eat.” Well, in scripture, bread takes on a metaphor for what people feed on in their souls. 

A few years ago, I was in a tough time where there was a lot of opportunity for offense and bitterness. God spoke to me in a dream during that season. Here’s the condensed version:

In the dream, I was in my front yard and there was these concrete structures in the driveway. Then I saw two swords in the ground. The Lord told me not to pick up the first one I saw because it was the sword of bitterness. Then there was a second sword called the sword of unity. It was way larger than the first one and it took strength to pull it out of the ground.

I walked over to one of the concrete structures and a famous evangelist was with me in the dream. I swung the sword to it and the structure cracked. When I hit it, it eventually turned from the inside out to bread. It actually looked like a glazed donut, or a cinnabon. I remember I wanted to eat it because it looked so enticing, but God said, “Don’t eat it. It’s the bread of bitterness.”

Then the evangelist and I destroyed it together with our swords. 

That’s a whittled down version of the dream, but the point I want to bring up was that the bread of bitterness was enticing! It looked like a glazed donut! Sugar! At least to me it was enticing. Which speaks to me of how tempting it is to get into bitterness. It’s the deception of bitterness. It looks good at first because you get a temporary sense of being justified, but in the end it will come around to bite you. 

Someone once said, “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” We get the privilege to live like Christ and give the gift of mercy and forgiveness. It’s taking the humble route to freedom. Remember, it was the sword of unity (that took effort to pull up) that destroyed the bread of bitterness. Unity doesn’t mean sameness, it means that we’ve come together with our uniqueness attached for a common goal. 

All that to say, it’s important what kind of bread you’re eating! In scripture, there’s a few types of bread that we’re warned about. Here’s a sampling:

• Bread of sorrows (Ps. 127:2)

  • This speaks of someone stressing out trying to provide for themselves, all the while losing sleep. The ESV Bible calls it the bread of anxious toil. The psalmist is saying if God isn’t in your work, it’s not going to help anything. Just sleep and trust in the God who provides for you even while you sleep. Anyone ever ate of this bread? The answer to freedom from it is to ask God for a revelation of His love and trust in it.

• Bread of wickedness (Prov. 4:17)

  • This bread speaks of people who live off of doing evil. I’m thinking if you made it to my blog, this may not be you. The author of Proverbs is teaching his son two different paths and to steer clear of the path of the wicked. They can’t even sleep unless they’ve done something evil. That’s company you want to stay far from.

• Bread of idleness (Prov. 31:27)

  • This is actually taken from the Virtuous Wife in Proverbs 31. She does not eat the bread of idleness - she’s not lazy! Her children call her blessed and her husband praises her. I will now take this moment to praise my wife - she is totally this woman! She’s a go getter, she takes very good care of our household, and is beautiful inside and out! She fears the Lord! Ok, back to the bread - the one who eats this bread could be summed up in this Proverb: “A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.” (26:15 NIV) If you’re on this diet, please stop and do something with your life.

• Bread of adversity (Is. 30:20)

  • This bread was actually fed to the people by God. This would be a bread you need to take every once in a while for a “cleanse.” The word for adversity could also mean narrow or a tight place. Sometimes God has us go through some tight places to help us get free from things holding us back in life. In order to fit through the tight places we’ve got to shed some unnecessary things. 

We also know of manna, the bread from heaven that the Israelites ate in the wilderness. That would be the premium Old Testament option. It has to be healthy - it’s from heaven!

Jesus later on proclaimed that He was the true bread from heaven that gives life to the world. He said He was the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which means House of Bread. As a baby, He was placed in a manger, or a feeding trough. He said in John 6:57 that “whoever feeds on Me will live.”

In other words, the Bread of Life was born in the House of Bread, placed in a feeding trough and later said “Whoever feeds on Me will live.” I think God is trying to say something. 

It’s the Person of Jesus that gives us sustenance.

Believer and unbeliever alike, it’s Jesus that gives us our existence and holds us together. He is the Life Giving Bread! When He gets into your system, He’ll bring His grace and truth into every area and health will be restored to your soul. 

True transformation comes from beholding Him (2 Cor. 3:18). The easiest ways to feed and behold is through meditating on Scripture, worshiping the Lord with Christ centered songs, and praying with thanksgiving about the Person of Jesus.

Principles are good but the Person is better. We were created for a Person. If you need breakthrough in your life, freedom in any area, or just want to go deeper in your relationship with God, focusing in on the Person of Jesus is the best way to do it. He is the image of the invisible God. He is who God has uniquely and specifically revealed Himself through. He is where the love of God is found. It really is all about Jesus.

So figure out your gluten, GMO’s or whatever...but take a closer look at what you’ve been feeding your soul. It may be time for a diet change. 

Question: What kind of bread have you been eating?