I feel sure that no one reading this has starved to death. I also feel sure that even though times may have gotten hard for you, somehow, you have always made it through any storm which may have come your way. At times, you may have also gotten somewhat short on cash and might have even fallen behind on a few bills. You might have wondered how you were going to make it. Bill collectors might have come knocking on your door. But.....somehow, you made it through your struggles if you are able to read this today.
If you have ever experienced struggle, you are not alone. People have struggled since the beginning of time, which brings me to my point today. Back in the times of the Old Testament, the Isrealites encountered many struggles in the wilderness, on of which was lack of food. In response to this struggle, God appeared to Moses and proclaimed that He had heard the complaints of His children and that He would provide and meet their every need so that they would know that He was their God (Exodus 16:10-12). God allowed manna to fall from the sky. Manna fell with abundance, enough to feed the people of Isreal for the entire 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God provided simple rules to Moses regarding the use of manna. The Isrealites were to gather only enough manna for their immediate consumption and could only collect extra the day before the sabbath. If any excess manna was collected, it quickly began to stink and bred worms. Of course, some people tried to collect extra, while others didnt collect enough.....much like people do today.
We all serve a God who is ready, willing and more than able to supply our every need. We are a blessed people. Our needs WILL be provided. However, just like back in the day of the wandering Isrealites, we still have a tendence to hoard...to covet...and to be selfish. Literal manna quickly began to stink and bred worms. The manna we tend to store today also has such tendencies. Think about it for a moment.....money, for example...to store it up, to hoard it and hide it...might not actually stink, but the actions taken to accumulate alot of it would have a foul smell, a bad odor. Anything we tend to hoard can be seen as modern day manna....something provided for us by God, yet used by us in an ungodly manner.
Think about your actions for a moment. Are you using what God has given you as a means of meeting your needs, or are you storing it up only for it to stink or to become foul and offensive. We need to let God be God in our lives. We need to remember that He is our mighty provider...that He knows what is best for us.....that He alone is our God!
Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people should go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not."
If you have ever experienced struggle, you are not alone. People have struggled since the beginning of time, which brings me to my point today. Back in the times of the Old Testament, the Isrealites encountered many struggles in the wilderness, on of which was lack of food. In response to this struggle, God appeared to Moses and proclaimed that He had heard the complaints of His children and that He would provide and meet their every need so that they would know that He was their God (Exodus 16:10-12). God allowed manna to fall from the sky. Manna fell with abundance, enough to feed the people of Isreal for the entire 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God provided simple rules to Moses regarding the use of manna. The Isrealites were to gather only enough manna for their immediate consumption and could only collect extra the day before the sabbath. If any excess manna was collected, it quickly began to stink and bred worms. Of course, some people tried to collect extra, while others didnt collect enough.....much like people do today.
We all serve a God who is ready, willing and more than able to supply our every need. We are a blessed people. Our needs WILL be provided. However, just like back in the day of the wandering Isrealites, we still have a tendence to hoard...to covet...and to be selfish. Literal manna quickly began to stink and bred worms. The manna we tend to store today also has such tendencies. Think about it for a moment.....money, for example...to store it up, to hoard it and hide it...might not actually stink, but the actions taken to accumulate alot of it would have a foul smell, a bad odor. Anything we tend to hoard can be seen as modern day manna....something provided for us by God, yet used by us in an ungodly manner.
Think about your actions for a moment. Are you using what God has given you as a means of meeting your needs, or are you storing it up only for it to stink or to become foul and offensive. We need to let God be God in our lives. We need to remember that He is our mighty provider...that He knows what is best for us.....that He alone is our God!
Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people should go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not."
No comments:
Post a Comment