God Provides Just What You Need
July 9, 2024 5:00 AM
Read
Exodus 16:1-18
The story of God's provision of Manna and Quail for the Israelites in the wilderness.
Reflect
It was the end of my first year in Seminary. We had just gone through Holy Week and celebrated Easter, which meant I had participated in eight worship services in a week; I had a big work event that was taking up most of my time, and final papers, projects, and tests were weighing on me. And then I got a text from my Sister-In-Law. “Just so you know, Pat’s in the hospital.” My brother, who was in his mid-thirties at the time and relatively healthy, woke up feeling strange. A trip to the doctor sent him immediately to the hospital. After many tests, he was admitted overnight for observation. By the end of the week, he was on a ventilator in the ICU, almost completely paralyzed, trapped in his own body.
I sat helplessly in that hospital room for hours. It felt surreal, like I was in this fog, famished for some kind of hope. Searching for some sort of meaning. There are days and seasons in life when it seems like all you are doing is walking in circles, and there is really no point. This leaves us very hungry, doesn’t it?
The Israelites probably felt that way, too. Hot and tired, losing hope of things ever being “normal” again. I certainly felt that way, spending day after day, hour after hour, in the hospital at my brother's side. One day as I was eating lunch in the cafeteria I heard my name. It was a classmate from Wesley, and although there were many open tables, she sat down across from me. She was there for a doctor's appointment, but after that day, she would come to have lunch with me once a week and allow me the space to talk, to feel, and to be. Just like God provided manna for the Israelites, God provided what I needed, too.
Manna looks different for everyone, but God provides what we need for the journey ahead.
Pray
God, Thank you for the perfect provision You provide; that in Jesus we will never spiritually hunger again. We are sorry for our lack of trust in You. Help us keep our gaze to what You have promised in our future. Amen.