Gather the Manna

“The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much [manna], some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.”—Exodus 16:17-18

I was listening to a Bible study on the way to work this morning and was amazed at two things:

1) It was a study that I picked up within the first few weeks of working at the State Board of Missions. I knew I would have a long commute and so I began buying audio Bible studies for the road. I listened to the first two sessions and then put it aside. No particular reason I put it aside, I just did. Then today, I picked back up on lesson three. Wow! For such a time as this. 2) The passage of focus is contained in the context of my exegesis paper focus. So, I’m very intimately familiar with it. But, like I’ve said before, the Word of God is living and active and you can read the same passage every day and find something new every time.

So many times we see someone going through a trial in life and we think to ourselves and say to God, “I could never survive something like that.” Even recently I’ve had someone say that to me, “Lydia, if I were in your shoes, I don’t know that I would have survived.” Well, the point is, we’re meant to stay faithful and trust God in our OWN trials, not in someone else’s. In the passage above we see God giving grace according to each one’s needs. My needs are very different from your needs. Your needs are very different from my needs. But, the answer is always the same: Grace given by God in the person of Jesus Christ.

“So they asked Him, ‘What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘from now on give us this bread.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”—John 6:30-35

God still gives us our daily bread. Even in the desert in the book of Exodus, God provided the daily bread. But, the bread appeared on the ground, not on the table. God provided, but the Israelites were required to gather it. God will provide not only our physical food, but He provides our spiritual nourishment as well. But, we have to be willing to go out in the morning and glean in His field. Open the Word and have your fill! THAT’S where you turn. That’s where I turn. He has provided all we need in the person of Jesus Christ revealed in the Word of God.

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”—2 Corinthians 1:20