This post is a part of my series of once weekly devotionals called Faith for Thought. Bookmark the homepage for Faith for Thought here to return to it for the weekly update on Thursday!
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A Reading from Exodus 16:13-20
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 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.
Exodus 16:13-20, NIV
Devotion
Whenever I read this story, I can’t help but wonder: Would I have tried to save some of the manna for the morning, too?
We have to remember that the Israelites were starving in the desert. They were desperate for food. I imagine they wondered if there would really be food available for the next day. Why not try to ration the manna, if only a little bit, just in case the manna didn’t actually appear again? Why not just eat half today and half tomorrow, just in case?
But God had promised He would care for their every need, starting over again with every new day. He commanded them to depend on Him starting with each new day. The Israelites did not need a safety net; they just needed God.
When I think about safety nets, the first thing that comes to mind is money.
Even though God commands us to give to the church first, isn’t it easier to just give the money you have leftover…just in case you don’t have enough for what YOU need?
And when I think about safety nets, I think about relationships.
Isn’t it easier to just live together and decide later if you want to get married, just in case it doesn’t work out?
And last but not least, I think about careers.
Even though I feel called to pursue another career to honor God, wouldn’t it be easier to just stay in this comfortable, high-paying job, just in case this other idea doesn’t pan out?
What all of these scenarios have in common is a lack of trust that God will provide for our every need as He has promised us.
It’s the idea that we do things out of concern for our own needs and our own comfort first, rather than trusting in God’s promises.
Take Action
Like the Israelites wandering in the desert and saving some manna just in case, we do a lot of things in disobedience to God because we want to plan for the “just in case.”
What is your “just in case”? What is something in your life that you are refusing to trust God with? Repent of your sin and ask God to help you make some changes in that area of your life.
