A Shortage of Manna (Stores) in the Nation!

Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow My instructions" - Exodus 16:4

When God took the nation of Israel through the desert, God really took them through a tough place. It was barren. It was dry. It was lifeless. It was desolate. (I think we're getting the picture aren't we?)

In all of this we could see that there was one thing the people simply could not do without God: They could not provide sustenance for themselves.

They could not plant. They could not cultivate or fertilize. They could not harvest. They could not manufacture. They were on the move. The territory they crossed and time in which they did it created a scenario where nothing but complete dependence on their Father God was the rule.

It was the difference between life and death.

God gave them food, manna, one day at a time. The manna would spoil the very next day after God gave it and so they could never store it.

Bummer! There was no manna store from which we could stock up! They couldn't start a manna business to capitalize on all the free manna. There was no "freeze dried" manna. No "Dream Dinners" manna prep business.

I believe this is a picture of our relationship with God, our Heavenly Father. We need His constant guidance. He is the bread of life. Jesus came to reintroduce us to the source of satisfaction for our souls and only the Heavenly Father's manna satisfies. But that manna is daily. You starve your souls, steal your own peace and joy and provide yourself with a giant case of the stupids when you deny your daily feeding.

Some would tell you that this is merely a picture of times when God takes you through rough places. Hey! I imagine there was some beautiful places in that desert. I live in a desert. I know how it can be amazing. They had good days and they had bad days, Israel did...they were people, just like you and I. So, no. This was not a picture of seasons in your life. This was God attempting to condition His people to trust in Him; confide in Him and allows Him entrance into their lives daily.

And, this is just the way you and I are today. The songwriter wrote, "We need thee Lord we need thee - EVERY HOUR - we need thee." The songwriter was accurate.

Recently I heard a Baptist preacher on the radio letting his listeners off the hook. "God does NOT have a specific will for your life!", he boomed. "I defy anyone to show me anywhere that God provided direct and personal leadership apart from his law!", he said. Well Pastor Bubba...every law of theological assessment screams at you that each and every Old Testament writer and character's life was a picture of how we, today, with the Holy Spirit within and the work of Jesus Christ finished without (outside of our own life) has given us back to our dad...and we can now go directly to Him for leadership and guidance! To be sure that guidance might be soft as a whisper. It may be a word spoken into our hearts but it should be daily and we should get used to it...no...we should anticipate it...without it we are directionless.

Do you find yourself in the desert? Then recognize your Heavenly Father, He is forcing you to depend wholly on His provision? If you have ALWAYS felt this way to some degree (good days and bad days but generally without guidance for your life) pray that you will learn the lessons God desires you to learn by beginning to give Him time each day. Pray. Read the Bible. Meditate. Spend time with other believers and share. He will begin to build into you a great freedom that is based on your capability to hear His voice. I know that sounds like an oxymoron. But many of our definitions are, as my granddad would say, "catty wampus." to the eternal ones definition.

Remember that this dry empty place you are going through can be just a season. You do not need to be there forever. And, His manna sustains and is really the best of all meals!

I remain...

InHISgrip,
~J~