31 Jan Oh Manna!
Read: Exodus 16:13-21and John 6:26-40
In the wilderness, God provided bread on the ground every morning for Israel. It was fine as frost and was awaiting the Israelites each morning as they arose. From scripture, we know that the substance could be baked and boiled but it could not be stored beyond the morning or it would spoil (with the exception of the Sabbath, when it would keep).
In Psalm 5, David sings to the Lord, “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.” He knew where to go first thing every morning, to collect the manna, the bread of the Lord’s presence, and to be fed spiritually before embarking upon anything else for the day.
January gives us a chance for a new beginning, a fresh start. It isn’t as though this time of fasting is going to miraculously undo every bad food decision made in 2022 or over the holidays, but being intentional about what is consumed in the body also helps us think intentionally about what we are consuming in our minds, hearts and spirits.
Every morning, the manna was there. It never failed to be available to the people who would go and gather it. Every morning, the manna was enough. No one was over filled and no one went hungry. Every morning, the manna satisfied. The people were sustained by its nutrients.
We must go to meet with the Lord every morning. For some, it is the moment they awake. For others (such as the households with lively toddlers that rise with the sun) it is at quiet moments later on. Most people will find that the day will get away and the moments will spoil if they are not seized.
Let this season be a reset of that morning gathering, feasting, deliberately setting time aside to meet with the Lord. He is faithful and is waiting for us to reestablish (or for some, to establish for the first time) those morning meetings with Him. Jesus told us plainly that He is the manna, the bread that came down from Heaven.
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
May we be the ones who know the Lord’s presence and fill our spirits with Him every day. Lord, give us this bread always.