Have you ever thought of the wonderful working of God's power that provides for you your daily bread?
The Lord God made man "from the dust of the ground," in the beginning, and He is still by the same creative power, forming our bodies from the dust of the ground. But if we should take a handful of dust and feed upon it, it would not do us any good, but only harm, for we could not digest nor assimilate it.
The word "assimilate" means, to become like unto. And we must assimilate our food, before it can do us any good. Yet we could never assimilate the dust of the ground; that is, it could never be made into our substance, into flesh and blood, so as to become a part of us.
So God takes the dust and prepares it for us in a beautiful and pleasant way; He changes it so that we can feed upon it and assimilate it, and in thus changing it, He puts lovely colors upon it, sweet and pleasant savors into it, and makes it "pleasant to the sight" as well as "good for food." (Genesis 2:9) The grains, fruits, and nuts are what He has provided for our food. He says, "Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." (Genesis 1:29)
The plants take up the dust of the ground, which is food for them, and the life of God working in them changes the dust and prepares it for our food. Then that same wondrous life of the Creator working in us takes the substance of the plant, and makes it a part of our flesh and blood. And thus God makes our bodies from the dust of the ground.
Think what wonderful power there is in the words which God spoke of the trees and plants, when He said, "To you it shall be for meat." And how much meaning there is in the daily prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
It means far more than that God should provide us with something to eat. For nothing could be meat or food for us, except by the working of the same mighty power that made us and that made the food, changing it into flesh and blood to build up our bodies.
You eat when you are hungry, and it seems a most natural thing to you that your food should nourish you. But the food must be prepared in your stomach, where it is changed into a kind of milky substance that can be carried in your veins to your heart, from which it is pumped into the lungs, where it is purified and sent down again into the heart. Then it is sent through your arteries into every part of your body, and without your thought or care, the food that the blood carries is formed into your skin, you nails, your bones, your muscles, and the hairs of your head.
Will you not keep these things in mind, not only when you ask your Heavenly Father for your daily bread, but when you take that which He provides and feed upon it?
If you do, your heart will be filled with love for Him whose power is thus working in you every moment, and you will let Him use for His own glory the life and strength that He imparts to you day by day, in giving you your daily bread.--Present Truth, December 13, 1900.