I have known people who always eat the same few things every day. I personally don’t know how they do it. Got to have a little variety, myself.
Well, with enough picante sauce, I can get by, but I don’t think the Israelites had access to jalapeños. Nope, they got Manna - a Hebrew word meaning “What the heck is this?” It appeared every morning like frost and flakes on the ground. (“Frosted Flakes”, pre-Kellog! They were Grrrr-eat!)
It was pretty exciting. They’d go out Sunday through Friday and collect a couple of quarts apiece for their - ahem - daily bread. (Give us this day our daily...you know.) Except on Friday they had to gather twice as much to tide them through the Sabbath. A few lessons were forcefully and vividly imprinted on them through this: God Really Can Provide. Just do a little math. Basically a million people had to get fed every day. How could any human agency provide enough sustenance for so many out of thin air?! In a desert? Only one word for that: Miraculous!
God expects His people to follow His instructions. That’s right, there were rules for His amazing Free Lunch Plan. Gather enough for everybody for the day, use it all or destroy it before morning. If you kept it overnight, it got nasty. Except for Friday night. Then it would still be good for Saturday. Because God said so, that’s why!
What God provides is good. Wafers and honey. That’s what it tasted like. Do an internet search for “perfect food”, and honey is what you find. Biscuits and honey with a dash of cinnamon is hard to beat. This wasn’t skimpy, unpalatable survival fare. They thrived on it. When they weren’t complaining about it.
Whining about God’s provision is never a good idea. Well, duh. But we do it anyway, don’t we? Human nature, I suppose, but our imperfect memories and voracious appetites (lusts) lead us to anguished complaining about the “same old same old”. Which gets us in trouble. Every. Single. Time.
The methods and means may change, but it is still God who provides.
When they got to the Promised Land, the manna stopped. Instead, they got to enjoy the Promise Fulfilled. For generations, they had been dreaming of “a land flowing with milk and honey”. That was the Promise Deferred. When they were ready, God fulfilled it even better than they expected, in ways they never dared to dream.
Here’s a hint for your life. God doesn’t tell you every good thing He has planned. He always has wonderful surprises waiting in the wings. Don’t get so attached to todays blessings that you can’t enjoy tomorrows!
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Fear not. Faith on!
