God provides the Manna. What will you do with it?
“There's mercy in the waiting
Manna for today
And when it's gone I know you're not
You are my hope and stay
When the sea is raging
Your Spirit is my help
He'll fix my eyes on Jesus Christ
And I'll say that is well
Oh I know that it is well”
You’ve Already Won, Shane and Shane
“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.”
Deuteronomy 8:3, NIV
In Exodus 16 the Lord sends bread from the sky - the Manna which we have so often heard about as a symbol of God’s provision - these frosted flakes reminiscent of coriander seed, white and tasting of wafers with honey that fed the camp of Israel.
An interesting aside is the direct translation from the Hebrew. The Hebrew word ‘Manna’ is not so much a description of the thing itself, but rather a description of the feeling it elicited in those who saw it - the word Manna, or Mahn, translates as “what is it?!
So baffling was the provision of God in the desert that the people walked around, wondering loudly, “what is it?!”
The Israelites took, day by day, whatever they needed for their homes and nothing more - processing it into bread to eat.
Numbers 11:8: “And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. (KJV)”
The fear of tomorrow, at first, did cause some of the people in the camp to hoard more than was necessary - but it would spoil overnight and breed worms.
The Manna was for today. It was an exercise in trust.
If we really think about it, our needs are always temporal - we are hungry until we get fed, thirsty until we drink, and so forth.
Jesus makes a very important point when He tells us to consider the lilies and the birds. Are you not worth more?
The truth is this, God had better in store for them. This whole exercise in trust was to get them to the Jordan River where they would ‘write their final faith exam’.
Yes, today you might be waiting and praying for that increase or promotion, but you are missing the manna in the situation - the opportunity to prove yourself. The manna needs to be processed into bread.
Yes, today you are waiting for ministry doors to open - for a platform or a pulpit - but you are missing the manna in the situation - study to show yourself approved, getting down on your knees and seeking His presence. The manna needs to be processed into bread.
Today you are waiting for your family relationships to be restored but you are missing the manna in the situation - the opportunity for fellowship and communion with your loved ones, the opportunity to build a relationship right now. The opportunity to reach out and plant the seeds of reconciliation is there - now! The manna needs to be processed into bread if you are to make it to your Jordan.
But often we get discouraged, not being mindful of God’s timing and process, waiting for the big things and missing out on the miracles of our daily lives.
There is a point in their wandering where the people grew tired of the Manna that God was providing. They craved other food - forgetting the goodness of the Lord and how He had seen them through. Even though they were getting meat in the evenings, they craved more.
Numbers 11:31-34:31 Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. 32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers.Then they spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
Kibroth Hattaavah translates as the “graves of craving’.
God is giving you the ingredients for your daily bread - the bread that will sustain you all the way to your own Jordan. Let us not look to the left or to the right - but let us trust that the Lord knows what He is doing. This is the secret to contentment.
Let us eat with gratitude that which God prepares for us. Let us trust in Him knowing that His ways are higher than our own.
If we desire more, let that more be more of Him - and not the temporary satisfactions of this world.
God knows what we need. Keep waiting. Keep trusting - the land of His promise awaits those who are faithful and do not get sidetracked by the lusts and cravings of the carnal mind.
He will see to every need on your way to the banquet spread out for you.
Prayer:Lord, in the waiting, let my eyes be set on You. As those who have come before me in the faith have prayed, if You provide the bread and water, that will be enough. Help me bring my own desires into submission to Your perfect will, trusting fully that You know what You are doing. Help me see that Your plans for my life will always be better than the plans I have for myself, and do not let my small ambitions get in the way of what You want to do for me, in me and through me, in Jesus name. Let me run this race with endurance and stay true to my faith in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.