Manna

So, God gives me things to research when He's trying to teach me something.  A word will just keep cycling through my brain until I really sit down and research it and figure out what it is God is saying to me.  My most recent word has been "manna". 

In Exodus is when this word first came about.  The Israelites had been freed from slavery and were camping out in the wilderness trying to get to their next location when they discovered they had no food!   If God had freed them from slavery was He going to provide for them or were they just sent to the wilderness to starve to death?  Silly Israelites.  Well, I call them silly because I can read on and see all the amazing ways that God provided for them.  I can see that God rained down a white substance (manna) from the sky that was a food provision for them.  He even rained down quail for them for meat.  Later, they begin to complain again and wish for the yummy fish they used to get when they were slaves.  They start complaining and wanting things the way they used to be. 

Well, God is good.  He knows not only what we need, but things we would like as well.  Not only CAN He supply our needs, but He truly wants to! But we can't complain about the manna.  Complaining is a sin of rejection toward God.  We instinctively resist a style of life that requires us to trust in God DAILY for our provisions.  We want to see in advance what we have, what we WILL have, to make sure our needs are being met.  During this time of the manna, God was training His people to live a life of faith.

Well, I could write an entire book about faith!  But I'll just stick to a blog.  Here's my modern day manna story.  From my last blog, I told you all the provisions that God provided for my family in December!  We were blessed beyond our wildest dreams by family and friends sending us gift cards to help us out with our "provisions".  Some of our dearest friends brought us a Christmas ham.  Not just a little ham, but probably the biggest one they could find!  I swear it was 20 pounds or so!  Needless to say, we ate ham for about 2 weeks!  I got creative and found tons of great recipes for making ham.  But after a week and a half we were getting a little tired of ham!  Asking what was for dinner one evening, Michael jokingly asked if it was ham again?  I told him, "Do NOT complain about the manna!"  That is now our little joke about how God brought manna to our household. 

We are still relying daily on God for our provisions.  Unemployment does not pay nearly what we need to make ends meet, but God is still good.  We've learned that after our bills are paid, we really don't "need" much of anything.  We can even swing it to eat out at times...on the 99 cent menu and sharing sodas.  God is providing us opportunities to earn money that is usually just enough for our grocery bill.  It's truly amazing.  We aren't hurting and we definitely aren't poor!  But we are DAILY trusting and living on faith and manna.  There are still a few things we are waiting for God to show us how to manage financially, but we are more than positive that needs will be met.  He was faithful before, He'll be faithful again.  And again.  And again.

I hope you don't have so much in your life that you can't see the manna that God is providing for you.  Everything we have is such a blessing!  We don't take a dime for granted anymore and my prayer is that you will see God's provisions in everything in your life, too!  I'm sure you have a warm house, a warm bed, and food on the table.  You are blessed, loved, and highly favored by the Most High God.  Whether or not you see it, you are.

Thank you God for two weeks of ham.  Ham casserole, Ham and Potato Soup, Ham Sandwiches, Ham and Eggs, etc.  I'm looking forward to the next round of manna!