Friday, December 18, 2009

Manna In the Morning

This morning I read that every morning God provided the Israelites with bread in the wilderness (Genesis 16). God gave it fresh everyday, except the Sabbath, but the people had to go out and pick it up. What they collected each day was sufficient for that day, but it did not carry over to the next. If they gathered more than they needed it spoiled or was ruined the following day. In the manna was all the nourishment they needed for that day’s journey. It sustained them for forty years.

Jesus taught us to pray, “… and give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Jesus also said, “Man must not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Today God has given us manna, supernatural bread. This bread is His Word. He has provided it. We find it lying on the surface pages of His Word. But it will not supernaturally fly from the pages into the tent of our mind. We must go out every morning and gather it up. We must gather it in the morning because it gives us the nourishment we need for this day’s journey. What we glean today will not suffice us for tomorrow. God gives us each day what we will need for that day only.

Can you imagine those Israelites who neglected to gather in the morning? By mid-morning they were hungry. By early afternoon they were slumping along like snails. By evening they were famished, grumpy and weak.

Now picture modern day Christians who do the same thing. Each morning they neglect to gather nourishment from God’s Word. They fast until their evening quail-time. But they struggle through the day. Why? Does it make sense not to collect the strength that God has provided? I know I would rather go through the day with a full soul.

Have you had your manna this morning?

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