In Exodus 16 when the Israelites were being led through the wilderness by Moses, some complaints arose about what they would eat. Some people even wished that they were back as slaves in Egypt because at least they had meat! The Lord eventually promised the people that he would give them fresh manna each morning. So each morning the Lord gave them manna with instruction to only take enough to sustain them for the day.
But….of course some people selfishly tried to take more than they needed. The bread that they tried to keep for the next morning became maggot filled and carried an awful stench. The Israelites didn’t have enough faith that God would supply them with fresh manna. At first I was shocked at the unbelief of the Isralites, but then I realized how similar my ways are to theirs.
For a lot of my life I have thrived off of past experiences with the Lord, not sure if I could let go and trust that there was more in store for me every morning. When people ask me about my faith I quickly rack my brain for the best, shiniest, most convincing stories. I usually default to experiences from YoungLife camp or Wilderness Trail hikes. I define myself so much by the past instead of by how the Lord is currently working in my life! I wanted so badly for people to see Christ in me that I have actually began to push Him away. By clinging so tightly to the old stale bread, I didn’t even realize that delicious freshly baked bread has been right at my finger tips the whole time.
Just like we eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, we have the opportunity to receive Gods new mercies. Reflecting on our past encounters with the Lord is a sweet reminder of His faithfulnes, but sometimes it can make us miss out on the fresh revelations waiting every morning!
Update – Our team is currently in Chiang Mai for the weekend getting visa extentions (and eating delicious food and drinking holiday Starbucks drinks and shopping while we are at it)
We are entering month three which leaves one month left teaching English to high schoolers up in the beautiful mountains of northern Thailand !!
