“Then the Lord said to Moses: I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion…”
Exodus 16:4 (NIV)
There was a specific portion that God sent to the Israelites, which appeared on the ground each morning. It was the perfect portion that could fill their stomach for a day and fully nourish their bodies as well. They were camping out in a barren wilderness with no other food to eat, while passing through to a better land, promised to them by God.
In that new land, there would be an abundance and variety of food available to them. There, they would dwell in their promised land, with all the conveniences and comfort of home. Joshua and Caleb even brought samples of the huge grapes that grew in that promised land, but for the time being, God sent His people manna, a highly nutritious daily bread from heaven, to sustain them.
There is so much for us to learn from this miracle of sustenance, sent from heaven. Whenever I read this story, I learn something new. God’s word is inexhaustible, and so is His grace and love for us. I see it throughout scripture, but especially in the story of the manna, sent to the Israelites.
All that the Israelites went through collectively as a people, we go through individually in our personal walk of faith. Every believer experiences some type of wilderness period. It’s a part of our journey in life, but not our permanent dwelling. They were saved from their enemies and freed from the oppression of slavery in Egypt. God saved and fought for His people then and He still does today. They had many good times of dancing and rejoicing with thanksgiving for that miraculous deliverance.
We have had good times and given God thanksgiving for the deliverance and blessings we received. We have danced and rejoiced in the joyful times of our life, but we have also faced trials, similar to being in the wilderness, where we hunger for God’s provision in many different ways. God sees everything we go through, He hears us every time we call upon Him and with abundant compassion, He answers His people.
It’s the way God sometimes answers us, that is hard to understand. The Israelites asked for food, but God sent them manna. It wasn’t the food they imagined. It wasn’t the roasted lamb with herbs, fresh veggies, or the breads they used to bake. It was a strange looking thin sweet wafer that appeared on the ground each day. They were instructed to gather as much as they wanted to eat, as their daily portion of food.
God knows what we need, and can do anything, so His daily provision is always what we need. The manna tasted good, satisfied their hunger and contained every nutrient the human body needed for the day. Some have called it the bread of angels, and Jesus referred to it later, calling Himself the new bread from heaven.
The miraculous manna sustained them, but they were warned against hoarding it. Some people tried to store enough to last longer than one day, but whatever they hoarded, became rotten. God intended for them to gather it once a day, as much as they could eat, but only day at a time. It was their daily portion, provided by God, who loves His people.
We are also expected to gather our daily portion from God. The daily portion can be applied to so many areas of our life. We see this message of daily provision throughout scripture.
In the story of the widow who received a miracle provision of oil and flour, she also received it one day at a time. Jesus taught us not to worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)
He was basically reminding us that our needs will be met, one day at a time.
One day I asked the Lord why I have to ask each and every morning for that day’s inspiration, to write a meditation. Couldn’t He just give me a week’s worth of ideas at once? After I asked that question, a thought came to my heart saying,
“I want you to come back every day.”
I learned through the stories like the manna and the widow’s oil and flour, that God wants each of us to come back and talk to Him every single day. He is saying to everyone,
“I want you back.” Whatever God provides for us, He wants us to return to Him for more the next day. When we ask for our daily bread, we will receive our portion of His provision for that day.
It can apply to whatever we need; a daily portion of physical well being, or peace of mind, or our spiritual nourishment for the day, and even meeting our financial needs. We also receive the daily portion of patience, mercy and endurance needed for the day.
God loves us too much to give us a lump sum and have us come back once a week. He loves us so much, He wants us to communicate with Him every day, as He provides us with our daily bread.
Lord, thank you for our daily portion of sustenance and for loving us and providing all that we need today. We will come back each day and stay in communication with you, our daily bread. Amen