Day 7
Manna
Worries can beborn in the past, live in the future, and invade the present. They focus ourattention on things over which we are relatively powerless, and they take ourattention away from the mission tat is right in front of us.
Stay in thepresent. Everyone who thinks about stress and worry suggests this. God’s wordsto you say something similar—they invite you back to the present—but they do itin a very personal way. You can turn your attention to the present because yourGod remembers your past; it is his job to worry about your future; and he willgive you the power you need for today.
“Today” is a skillthat the Lord is quite keen to give his people. Like all skills, you will notmaster it immediately, but you can grow in it now.
Manna. God’sanxious people began their training very early. Picture yourself in the Sinaidesert with no means of harvesting crops because you have just left fourhundred years of Egyptian bondage and are on the move. You are concerned abouttomorrow’s food, which is certainly a most primal and understandable worry.
Trust God fortoday rather than be distressed about tomorrow. Trust your Father for this oneday. That is the wisdom that the Father wanted to impart to his children, andthe education came through manna.
Then the LORD said
to Moses, ‘Behold, I am about to rain bread fromheaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion everyday, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. (Exodus16:4)
They had evidencethat God was trustworthy. He had just delivered them from slavery with signsthat showed his power and love. Now the lessons continued. He would supplybread for each day. If the people tried to gather extra bread so they couldtrust in their own ability to gather and store, the leftover would becomeworm-infested and rotten. This lesson continued every day for forty years,until the people set foot in the land promised to them, where food would beready to harvest. Manna brought life to God’s people. It is a symbol for the life,grace, and power that God still gives his people today.
Other storiesbuild on this one. For example, Jesus teaches us to seek his kingdom today andtrust the Father for tomorrow.
“Give your entireattention to what God is doing right now, and do not get worked up about whatmay or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hardthings come up when the time comes.” (Matthew 6:34 MSG)
We will considerthese words more carefully a little later. For now, know that there are goodreasons to worry. The dilemma is that worries tell you to take matters intoyour own hands, but that message needs to be altered to say, “What a perfectopportunity to trust the God who is strong, loving, and faithful.”
Response
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]Howmight you over-collect your manna because you are not quite sure that yourFather will come through tomorrow? In other words, you trust him, but you alsotrust in yourself. What does putting your trust in yourself look like for you?
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Beginwhere you are. Pray for manna (a.k.a grace) for today. Tell God specificallywhat and where you need grace today. Then tomorrow ask him for grace as soon asyou wake up. Ask him to help you make going to him the new rhythm of your life.
