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THIS IS OUR
DAILY BREAD
Our call to daily dependence is living on manna.
Give us today our daily bread. Not our bread for
tomorrow or ahead to next week, but only for today.
This leads us to take a terrifying journey of living
a life of absolute dependence on the miraculous hand
of God. We call out to God for miracles but we
don’t really want to be the paralytic or the leper.
We really just want to be entertained by the
miracles of God when what we need to be is
transformed by them.
Is it
enough to know God is going to provide? Or do we
have to know what tomorrow holds before we begin the
journey? Can we enter into the unknown with a sense
of security that God will provide? When we don’t
have huge reserves or a plan 'B', that extra bit of
manna, or just in case God doesn’t pull through
plan, do we trust God to be our only true
provision? Yes we do! And then he is able to begin
to use us in ways he never could have before. Where
the risk to those who don’t believe would be too
great, we can stand and step out into the river
believing it will divide. Where others see giants,
we will see a land God has already given to us. God
has called us to this level of trust to be used as a
foundation he uses to change the hearts of those
around us. He is our Manna! We need God and not
just a little, but desperately. From the moment we
wake up to the time we lay down and even when we
sleep.
Jesus called
us to pray for “daily bread” we don’t control
tomorrow God does, we trust in his presence and his
provision for today to be sufficient for our needs.
The Israelites went with plan B and tried storing up
the manna that was only meant for that day. It was
there just in case God doesn’t pull through, and as
a result it rotted and filled with maggots. This is
a result of plan B when we look at the risks
involved. We are tempted at this point to ask the
“What if God fails me?” And we start gathering up
the resources for our back up plan. The problem
here is we aren’t usable when we need a plan B to be
safe. We need to follow him into the unknown. That
is where we can be used by him. He wants us to let
go and be absolutely dependent on him and empty our
pockets of the plan B manna and shift the weight of
our trust into his faithfulness. Jesus is calling
us to pray for the kind of faith that doesn’t need a
pile of reserves before we are willing to begin the
journey.
We should
want to be participants and not just a spectator in
the miracles of God, and want to see him transform
our lives so much that we are willing to allow him
to take us into dangerous territory. We must walk
with God through the valley of death for us to
really know there is no need to fear evil. We can
watch others walk in the valley from afar, but we
can only become more like him if we are willing to
endure the trials that lead to transformation.
Do we trust
God to come through for tomorrow? Jesus told us in
this world we would have trouble (John 16:33) but to
take heart he has over come the world. What appears
as nonsense to those who don’t believe God has their
back makes perfect sense to those whose character
has been transformed by adversity. The believer can
see the hope that is centered in God’s caring
presence in his or her life. The terrible
circumstances may still cause your knees to shake.
Take heart, he has over come the world. Let your
emotions express themselves in anticipation. It
isn’t “if God comes through” but “when God comes
through.” Refuse to trust other resources for
safety. We must turn to God to meet our needs. He
is our only source of protection. He protects in
the unexpected, the just in time, with just enough.
He provides the manna. No matter what we face or
how difficult our situation may become, God has it
under control. God is with us so we are OK. Don’t
get lost in the desert, listen for God's call to the
promised land. Settle for nothing less than His
complete will. Be obedient rather than choosing
excuses and stand firm in the battles that obedience
brings. We have lived on manna and have become
transformed by it. God is our ultimate and only
provider.
We will never
enjoy the day here when we posses everything we need
for tomorrow’s challenges. We will always need more
from God than we have right now. As we are
transformed in the journey of living on manna, we
learn to enjoy being participants in Gods
miracles. We are taught that spiritual
transformation only happens as we walk with the
shepherd closely eating the manna he has provided us
for that day. It is during the dark days walking
through the valley of the shadow of death that we
learn to listen for the Shepherd's voice.
Like the
children of Israel, we will be tempted to turn to
other sources of safety for our provision, shifting
away from the creator to his creation, being tempted
to trust in our own ability to provide over God’s.
We may even be tempted to believe God has left us as
the journey gets tough. Choose to be faithful and
look for the transformation in the trial; be
obedient even when it’s difficult. Refuse to value
the blessing over the blessing giver. It is a faith
that only worships God, and becomes overly committed
to God’s “plan A”.
As we place
our faith in God’s call he will use us to transform
our world. Whether in plenty or want, we will be
choosing to live on manna.
- Julie
Julie Leon lives in the Kansas
City area with her husband Scott and their four
children.
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