While I was going through all the turmoil of trusting the Lord with our needs and finances, I was teaching a Bible class for children at our church. We were learning about Moses and the Israelites when they were in the desert. I was teaching the children about the manna God sent for them to eat each morning. I had to read over this section of scripture, of course, before I was ready to teach the lesson. (See Exodus 16)
The Lord commanded the Isrealites to gather only the amount of manna they needed for each day. But some of the people tried to stash some away and the next morning it was covered in maggots. They found out that if they wanted to eat, they had to do things God's way. Now, why did God not allow the Isrealites to have a supply of food on hand so they would not have to worry? They could store it up and not spend every morning going out to gather what they needed. Wouldn't that be smart and responsible of them to ration their food to last longer? And it hit me: He wanted them to depend on Him!!! They had to go to bed each night with faith that God would again supply their food the next day. Each day they woke up and found that He was faithful.
That was very eye-opening for me! I had money in the bank and just because I wasn't adding to that each month, I saw there was no hope. We would eventually run out of money and my biggest fear was that I would have to go back to work full time. My dream of staying home to raise my children would be crushed. They would have to go to daycare-it was all going to be over. But God showed me that He is more than able to supply what I need for each day. We have had some nights when supper wasn't very exciting, but we have never gone hungry. We have always had what we needed. A bag of hand-me-downs here, an offer to go out to eat there, God takes care of us each day. There may be a time in our life when we do not have food or clothes like we would like to have (manna for 40 years?!)...but I go to bed each night now with faith that God will take care of us. No longer do I believe that we are capable of taking care of ourselves all by ourselves.
We need to depend on God. He will send the manna when it is needed and not before.
Now that I've joined you in the blogging world, I'm going back and reread all your old posts. I'm sorry I wasn't a good friend and supported you from the very beginning. But, I sure am enjoying them now! Remember the Saturday you just had, think again about the Manna. God will provide!
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