Manna from Heaven

I mentioned a couple of days ago how I had to spend a time in prayer & fasting. I haven’t been very faithful in my reading lately. I’ve let life get in the way and have not been putting God first. Well, I read my devotion for today and BOY did it speak volumes.

Well, I was reading scripture from the book of Exodus. Exodus? Yes, Exodus. It talks about Manna. Manna was the "bread" that God provided for the hundreds of thousands of the children of Israel as they made their way through the desert to the Promised Land. God ALWAYS provides for those who are coming after Him.....even when they are going through the desert! That ought to be encouraging to those of us who are going through a "dry time" in own lives right now. God will rain down manna from heaven if He has to just so you can MAKE IT. Check out these verses that give the instructions on what these people were to do concerning this "manna."

Exodus 16:4 GW The LORD said to Moses, "I'm going to send you food from heaven like rain. Each day the people should go out and gather only what they need for that day. In this way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

Exodus 16:14-30 GW When the dew was gone, the ground was covered with a thin layer of flakes like frost on the ground. (15) When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, "What is this?" because they didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "It's the food the LORD has given you to eat. (16) This is what the LORD has commanded: Each of you should gather as much as you can eat. Take two quarts for each person in your tent." (17) So that is what the Israelites did. Some gathered more, some less. (18) They measured it into two-quart containers. Those who had gathered more didn't have too much. Those who had gathered less didn't have too little. They gathered as much as they could eat. (19) Then Moses said to them, "No one may keep any of it until morning." (20) But some of them didn't listen to Moses. They kept part of it until morning, and it was full of worms and smelled bad. So Moses was angry with them. (21) Each morning they gathered as much food as they could eat. When the sun was hot, it melted away. (22) But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts per person. All the leaders of the community came to Moses and told him about it. (23) He said to them, "This is what the LORD said: Tomorrow is a day of worship, a holy day of worship dedicated to the LORD. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Save all that's left over, and keep it until tomorrow morning." (24) So they saved it until the next morning as Moses had commanded, but it didn't smell or have worms in it. (25) "Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a day of worship dedicated to the LORD. You won't find anything on the ground today. (26) You can gather food on six days, but on the seventh day, the day of worship, you won't find any." (27) On the seventh day some people went out to gather food, but they didn't find any. (28) The LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to do what I have commanded and instructed you to do? (29) Remember: The LORD has given you this day of worship. That's why he gives you enough food on the sixth day for two days. On the seventh day you may not leave. Everyone, stay where you are." (30) So the people never worked on the seventh day of the week.

I know that's quite a bit of Scripture but I wanted you to get the full picture here. Notice they had to gather the food they needed for each day FRESH each morning. They could NOT live on the previous day's manna, except on the Sabbath. That is EXACTLY how it should be for us today. The only difference is that with us, it is SPIRITUAL MANNA that we are to be gathering instead of NATURAL MANNA. So many people read their Bibles every once in a while and then they try to LIVE OFF OF THAT "MANNA" for weeks to follow. It won't work that way!!! God wants us to gather FRESH MANNA from Him every day. No matter what it is you have need of, you can find your answer in the Secret Place. The Secret Place is that time of day when you gather up your SPIRITUAL MANNA for the day. It's a time of fellowship with the Lord where you gather up HIS NOURISHMENT that only HE can provide. You CANNOT manufacture this type of nourishment on your own. It MUST come from the Lord. Oh, if we could only learn this principle. So many Christians are living on manna that has been gathered days and weeks before. It's not fresh. It's stale. That is NOT what the Lord has for us. He has FRESH information for us! He has FRESH life for us! He has FRESH revelation knowledge for us! But, WE must come to Him and gather it DAILY!

So, how about you? Are you gathering FRESH manna daily? Are you spending that "quality" time with the Lord as you make your way through your busy day? Have you taken the time to gather your MANNA for the day? If not, it's time to do so. Stop trying to live off yesterday's provision. God has something FRESH out of the oven JUST FOR YOU! Don't miss out on it. You will never have this moment again. Make sure you get all that God has for you for this very moment. He is a God with NEW THINGS for those who are willing to PAY THE PRICE to come to Him and "gather the manna." I am going for it! How about you?

Have a great day!