Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. (Exodus 16:21-22)
As the Israelites were wandering through the wilderness, food became a great issue. After all, there were at least a million hungry mouths to feed. Were would they come up with so much food as they traveled to the Promised Land? God provided it for them.
What’s interesting about this story is that God didn’t provide the food all at once – He simply gave them their daily bread. Those Israelites who tried to store the manna overnight found that it was infested with maggots by the next morning. However, on the sixth day, God miraculously allowed the bread to last overnight so that they wouldn’t need to work on the Sabbath.
Each day their gathering of food helped them to learn an important lesson: God can be trusted; He knows your needs; He will provide for you.
This lesson was so important to learn because they would later be tempted to question whether or not God could be trusted. In those moments, they could look back at God’s faithfulness and be encouraged.
For us today, we can look back at God’s miraculous provision and realize that He is the God who meets the needs of His people. He can be trusted in whatever life circumstances we face. In fact, He rewards our trust in Him with blessing. Where do you need to trust Him more? What can you do to quit relying on yourself for the provision of your needs?
Lord, thank You for the example that You gave to the Israelites day after day after day – for instilling in them the lesson that You can be trusted. Help me to trust You in all of my circumstances. Let me see the many ways in which You have provided for me, and let me be encouraged to place my life into Your hands in the future.
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