Manna For Today
Have you ever found yourself in a season of life where you're just trying to get through, escape, and get on to the next step? I have been in a season of learning to trust God, and anyone who has read my last three posts knows this. I've written on the subject multiple times, and after my previous post, I thought I had exhausted the matter as far as I could and had written everything I could think to write. Well, as ever, I was wrong; a reality of life that I am becoming increasingly accustomed to, especially when it comes to God and impatience ole me. I often think, "oh yeah, God, I got it, I get it, I trust You now," only to have a new trust challenger step into the ring. It's a humbling process to be in, and sometimes I find myself just wanting God to give me a break.
I recently read a great book by Lysa Terkeurst called It's Not Suppose To Be This Way. In it, she writes about her book on rejection, only to find herself months later in a season of life where she faces the worst rejection she has ever faced in her life, and through her own book, she finds God speaking to her. I find myself relating to this in my own way. As I have been writing over the last few months on the subject of trust, I have now today found myself called into a season of deeper trust, into a season of testing this trust I've been writing on. There's a beautiful picture in my mind of Jesus, the loving teacher working with His disciples, patiently teaching them lessons that soon will be given real-world application. Here I sit again, sharing my journey and the lessons Jesus is patiently teaching me.
As I've wrestled with God over recent months, I've found myself trying to understand what's next. What's next in my professional career? What's next in my personal life? I look at many of my friends and see many who are working and finishing up degrees, I see the young men in my life whom I mentor, and I see the same question in their life. We are all asking this question at varying levels of intensity: What is NEXT?
As I've considered this question, I have realized that we often have a vision of how our lives should pan out. I have found in my own life that it never really pans out the way I thought it would and or should. I think if I did X thing, then Y result was inevitable. I have this deep longing to control the course of my life and the outcomes. I think we all have this desire in us. If you struggle with this, please find me. I would like to know the secret. As I examined my heart and considered this desire for control, I asked myself the question. Where does this desire for control come from? So here I am again, sharing the newest convictions God has given me on trust.
Recently during my early am quiet time, I was reminded of the exodus story in the Bible. The Children of Israel escape their enslavers in Egypt only to find themselves wandering in the wilderness. During this time, God shows up in some of the most incredible ways within the Biblical story. During the day, He shows up as a cloud in their midst, and at night He is a pillar of fire. I want to pause for a moment and consider this. Can you imagine being an enemy of the Israelites? Can you imagine going to scout out this new force moving into your lands, and as you consider sneaking into their camp by night, from afar, you see a giant fire amid their camp? Unsure of what to make of it, you continue to sneak closer. Is there an enormous bonfire? As you finally get close enough to see more clearly, you lay yourself flat on your stomach on a sandy dune and peek over it. Terror and awe fill your being as you look into this encampment's midst and see no bonfire in their camp, but instead, you see a towering pillar of fire hovering over their camp, standing guard like a sentry over them. The pillar of fire crackles and sends shadows fleeing from it as it bathes all in a warm protective light. You don't know who these people are or why they have come into your land, but they set guards over their encampment because the Lord of Hosts has set Himself as their guard.
As I continued to reflect on and read this story, I considered the provision God gave to His people through the manna and quail. I pondered the beauty of what God was doing for His people during their wandering in the exodus. According to many records, the Children of Israel had been captive for over 400 years. During this time, they learned to depend on their captors for food and provision. They had learned during their enslavement to fear lack constantly. They had learned to fear the knocks that came at their doors as it might be an Egyptian guard coming to take their male child and throw them into the Nile river, but now, God had set Himself in their midst, and He would not allow such treatment of His people to continue. They were a traumatized people, and He would continue to show them His love for them and that He was worthy of their trust. He started with a wonderous rescue from Eygpt, and now He would continue as they wandered in the wilderness. Though He had already given them ample reason why they could and should trust Him, He continued to provide patently for them. As I read this story, a new consideration that I never had before honestly spent time pondering stuck out to me.
When the Children of Israel were wandering in the desert, God rained down from heaven each day manna and quail for them to eat. God instructs them only to collect enough manna and quail for the day, and only on the sixth day were they to collect a double portion so they might rest on the Sabbath. As I thought about this story, I couldn't help but ask myself, "why?" Why would God limit the amount they collected? Did it not make more sense to collect enough for the week, then each day, rather than gather manna, they could have continued their travels? Why did God limit the amount they were to collect? As I thought through this, I saw a beautiful revelation in it.
God was teaching His people to trust His provision each day. Every day they would go out in the morning and see God's provision for them. Each day they would go out in the freshness of the morning and see God had poured a blanket of bread for them. They didn't even have to work for it. All they had to do was trust and receive what He freely gave. God didn't limit how much they were to collect because there wasn't enough to go around. God limited it so they would learn to depend on Him to trust in His provision each day and to learn to obey even if it made more sense to collect for the entire week. I repeatedly put stock in my logic and what makes sense to me, but my logic does not bind God. God fundamentally is not bound by my logic. Logic and reason are forces put in place for our good by God, but they do not bind God.
A tyrant who beat and abused the Children of Israel had taught them to fear and depend on their abilities. God was teaching them that they could trust Him in all things. They could trust Him to part the seas for their sake, and they could trust Him to provide for them bread and meat so that they might live. God was trying to teach them not to worry about tomorrow. He was patiently showing them He was trustworthy. He patiently taught His people then and patiently teaches us today. He is patiently teaching me today. As I consider this story's deeper meanings, I am reminded of how He has provided for me. I am reminded of how He has provided for me all my life, specifically in the last 12 months, through the community He has blessed me with. As I read this story, I found myself with three simple words on my heart, "Manna for Today."
God, I don't know what to do next. I don't need to know what's next. God, would You give me "Manna for Today."
After this revelation, I put sticky notes on my computer and in my truck. Putting them in places where I would constantly find myself reminded. If there is one thing I know about myself, it is that I am easily distracted, and when life throws me a curve ball, I can quickly find myself on a mental merry-go-round, and I'll start going in circles again and again over the same problem. Fortunately, God knows this about me, reminding me to again trust in His provision for today.
Matthew 6: 25-34
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?g 28And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
A verse we often hear preached, it is a verse I have often heard and read, but all too quickly, when life gets wild, or when things don't go the way we want or the way we think they should, we forget the truth of God's promise in it. God has continually and faithfully shown us he is trustworthy. He shows us time and time again in each story recorded in the Bible that He is faithful. He shows us that He is faithful even when we are not!
So this time, I won't leave you with a challenge but instead with a word of encouragement. I don't know what challenge you are facing, and I don't know what the final result will be, but I do know that God is faithful, and He will not leave you, nor will He forsake you. You may not see what He's doing right now, but you can trust it's bigger than you can imagine and better than you could have planned. There is no end of verses I could reference to this truth. I hope you will be encouraged and reminded that God is working on your behalf. I say this as much to you, the reader, as I do for my heart! I hope and pray this message will renew your spirit. If you find yourself forgetting, do what I have done and start putting up sticky notes that say "Manna for Today" put them up everywhere until you can't escape the reminder that God Himself is watching over you. Like a pillar of fire, He stands watch over you, and His mercies are new each day, and His provision will never fail!
