Look Up

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.” Exodus 16:4

Imagine the scene with me. Moses and the Israelites are on the move. They’ve just seen miracle after miracle and they were probably expecting to step RIGHT into another one—you know the ultimate one of being past all the Egypt stuff and living their great new lives. Instead, they stepped into the desert. There was no milk. There was no honey. They couldn’t even find water. They must have had a hard time equating the same God that could open and close the sea to the One that had suddenly become very quiet. And because things didn’t add up they started to complain and grumble. I can hear them now.  Why would God do everything He has done and then leave us in a dry and desolate place? How much more of the “desert” will we have to endure? If only we could be back in Egypt. 

Sounds a little familiar doesn’t it?

How many times have we scoffed at the wilderness of 2020, longing to be back in 2019? How many times have we complained and grumbled and told God that we were over this current season of wandering? How many moments have we wondered if this is ever going to end and if anything better could really be out there waiting beyond the horizon of what we can only see today?

If anybody gets it, the Israelites do. I imagine they would invite us to the campfire and swap stories of the life they knew in contrast to the life they were currently living in at that moment. I bet they would talk about all the things they had seen, only to come to a future they could not see. And I bet they would admit that their faith was being tested on a daily basis. 

I’m not even saying I would blame them, but in their grumblings, there were a few things they had forgotten. And I think those lessons are equally important for us to remember at this moment in time.

The first is that Egypt may have been familiar, but it was not forever. God had something better! I think sometimes we forget exactly what the Lord delivered us from when the blessing becomes delayed. We look back longingly at what we had because it’s what we know, but we will never be able to fully see the fulfillment of His promises as long as we are looking backward.

The second thing the Israelites easily forgot was that God had already been faithful time and time again. God had proved his faithfulness through plagues, pillars, and partings and yet they wavered in the pause. God doesn’t stop being faithful just because He doesn’t answer or provide in the way we think He should. Pastor Steven Furtick put it this way, that sometimes we “confuse God’s love with conformity to our agenda.” God is always good and that doesn’t change, even in the wilderness. 

The last lesson the Israelites learned is that sometimes God walks us through a desert in order to equip us with what we will need on the other side of our victory. There was something greater on the other side, but the Israelites had to be willing to walk through the hard and dry land that would lead them to that place. There were some things they had to learn and some things they needed to let go of before they were ready for what was ahead. And there were some places of trust that needed to be settled in their hearts.

I think that’s exactly why God introduced the manna the way He did when they asked Him to provide food. It may seem like a hassle to have to go out and gather again and again, but God was more interested in teaching them dependence on Him than comfort or convenience. He was more interested in showing them that He would provide exactly what they needed for that place. 

I actually had a different idea to write about, but I felt the Holy Spirit prompting this idea of daily dependence on God because I think that’s exactly where we are right now in our lives and in our world. Manna is not some outdated Old Testament breakfast item; it’s a lesson of trusting. It’s a lesson of knowing that our God will provide exactly what we need each day. He will fill us up. And He will be enough.

But that only happens if we actually go out and gather it. Our role is to seek Him. We must come into His presence in order to be filled with His strength. We must admit our dependence on Him and believe that He will bring the manna.

I’m not sure what you’re walking through in this season. Maybe it’s a job loss. Maybe it’s waiting for test results. Maybe it’s wondering what the future is going to look like now. Maybe it’s simply a weariness from all the changes and decisions that have to be made on a daily basis. Whatever your wilderness looks like, remind yourself that you’re not alone. Look up to the One who provides. To the One who brings just what we need for that day, that moment and that struggle. Watch the manna fall and gather what you need. And then trust that more will come tomorrow. 

-Only Hope