I read through the Bible a couple times a year and recently finished Revelation, so now I've gone back to the beginning again. I love studying the word in just about any format, but I've found that I really love being able to read it from cover to cover. There is so much context in every verse and every passage, and I am always finding new things that blow my mind no matter how many times I have read something before. Yes, even in the dry parts of the Old Testament that most people avoid or skim over. ;) To me, Genesis and Exodus are exciting and fascinating stories that I absolutely love to read. It's a chance to see how God first introduced himself to humankind, what He put into place that still hasn't changed, and how He first modeled His love for us. Not to mention how amazing some of the people in the Old Testament were and to see how they interacted with God! Earlier this week, a passage from Exodus stuck out to me, so I sat on it for a while and received some beautiful revelations from God through it. "When the Israelites saw it [manna], they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not knowwhat it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs...' Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning." However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. Through this, God spoke to me about provision. He wants to be the one who provides for us, and He does, but sometimes we don't trust Him to keep on providing. We take whatever word, promise, or blessing that He has given us and we hold on so tightly that we can't receive the next one. Because what if there isn't a next one? We don't want to lose the one thing we know came from God and risk not getting it back. But what I think we often don't realize is that it isn't even good anymore at that point. It's rotted because we didn't just use it while it was fresh.
The Israelites saw God's provision time and time again - pretty much the entire Old Testament, especially up to this point in the story - yet some of them directly disobeyed and took more manna anyways. But that wasn't what it was for, so it didn't stay good for the next day. God gave them that blessing for that day, and they had to trust that every morning He would give them a new blessing. It's not directly applicable to my life today because I go to the grocery store for food, not a field of manna, but I feel like it's about the same kind of trust. Do I trust that God is going to provide what I need today and that might not be the same as what I needed yesterday? Do I trust that He knows how much I need and that it will be enough? Do I trust that He is going to be my daily bread? He's my daily dose of patience or kindness; the one who knows I have those bills to pay; the one who gives me the vision I need to keep pushing through a trial. And then there's that second half: that the blessing did stay good overnight when they needed it to. God knew that He didn't want them working on Sabbath, so He extended the covering of Friday's blessing so they could rest in Him on Saturday. Once again, some people went out the next day even though they'd been told not to, but that day was different. There was no new manna on the ground, they had to eat what God had sustained from the day before. Sometimes a blessing or a word is supposed to be bigger. It's meant to be held onto for longer, and once again we need to trust Him to tell us when that is. He is not going to lie to us or try to trick us. If I'm going into a dry season, He's going to send me in with enough provisions and make sure they last. He's given me visions for things way down the road, and He is the one I trust to sustain that vision so that I'm ready for it when it is time. I am not the one who decides what to hold onto. Clinging to something from the past through my own strength has led to maggoty bread in my pocket and a hungry belly. It can be hard and confusing at times, but I would rather set that old bread down and pick up what He has for me today, no matter what it is. Because today is a new day and He has made a blessing specifically for what I need here and now - why wouldn't I want that?!
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ErikaJeremiah 29:11 Archives
March 2023
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