This week's lesson centered around the Israelites wandering in the desert. They just got rescued from the Egyptians and saw the mighty hand of God in action, Red Sea ring a bell?...but they begin griping about being hungry and thirsty...so God provides for them in the way of manna. I've heard this story a hundred times, but this time it struck me in a new way (isn't God's Living Word just so awesome that way?)
This may be a real newsflash to everyone...I'm a planner. Shocking, I know. I like to know what I'm doing and when. I like to plan my meals out for the week and buy my groceries in accordance. I like knowing that we have enough money in the bank BEFORE I make a purchase (a novel thought these days!). I'm not a huge fan of people just "dropping by" for a visit because I like my house to be in order when someone visits. (However, if you give me a 15 minute warning, I can perform miracles by shoving things in closets and running the vacuum quickly! So, come on by!) I like to know details of where my children are going and what they will be doing when they aren't with me. I like to know what time Danny will be home from work each day. The theme here is I LIKE KNOWING!!! So, you might get a little chuckle out of the journey we've taken in the last year or so...the knowing has become a rare thing. It's been quite a ride!
Ok, back to the manna...
God provided food for his people in the middle of a desert. Each night, he would send down a layer of dew and when the dew dried in the morning sun, there it was quite literally manna from heaven! As Beth Moore called it "heavenly cornflakes". His instructions to the people were simple...take only what you need for that day and no more. That's all they had to do, go out and gather the manna and eat it. Wow, amazingly easy, right? I can get pretty judgmental of the stupid Israelites for being so unfaithful when they went out and gathered MORE than they needed just to be sure they had enough for tomorrow. They didn't trust God to provide what they needed each morning. I get even more irritated when they got picky and decided they wanted meat too...manna just wasn't enough! Geez!! Hadn't they already seen what God was willing to do for them? Hadn't he DELIVERED THEM!? Then I think of it in these terms...hasn't God delivered me? Yes, many times in many different ways. However, I don't always find it easy to just blindly put my trust in His provision for me. I choose to panic, to try to fix things myself, to scamper around like the idiots in the desert...why? Why do I do that when it is so much easier to trust in the One that already promised me a hope and a future. I'm working on it. He's there. God doesn't move, I do. Just like the Israelites had to go outside their tent and gather the manna to receive God's blessing, I too must recognize those blessings and live in God's love in order to reap benefits. Beth puts it beautifully, "God desires to teach you His incomparable sufficiency. Will you accept His provisions? They are right outside your tent." Love that.
I really dig it when God is trying to show me something and everything I pick up has a message for me pertaining to what He wants me to know. A while back I picked up this 15 minute daily devotional book at FCS...it was on the $5 book rack, so I couldn't resist. It's called "My Time With God". I decided to start reading it this week while I'm waiting in the car to pick the kids up at school. Today's lesson was titled "Come, Follow Me". It quotes the verses in Matthew when Jesus approaches Simon (Peter) and his brother who are fishing and asks them to follow Him. Again, heard the story many times, but today I was struck by their response. It says, "So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him." (Matthew 4:20) Whew! Immediately...they just went with him! They didn't say, "Can we get back to you on that?" They just left what they were doing, their way of life, probably all they'd ever known. They left it and followed Him. So, the planner in me just GASPS at the thought of that. What about all the responsibilities they had...was someone, somewhere counting on the fish they were catching for dinner? They must have just known without a doubt that they were to follow Him. I wonder sometimes what I would do in that same situation...would I have enough faith to just follow? I'm trying to live my life every day like that. I'm trying to listen when He asks me to follow... To really follow Him I must be willing to sign over the rights to my own life. That's sort of huge. However, why not? Didn't he give me this life to begin with and didn't he love me enough to ensure that I will spend eternity with him? He has given me every provision I need for life. I truly believe that every coupon I clip is in some way manna from heaven...He's providing everything I need when I need it. How easy my life would be if I'd just implicitly trust that and follow him.
Some days it seems easier than others to just trust and follow. The greatest joy for me is to know that every day is a brand new, clean start for me. Every morning with the dew comes a brand new chance to trust His provisions for the day...
"God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!"
They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!"
Lamentations 3:22-23 The Message
All the sudden, I'm hungry for cornflakes...
Melissa
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