Read Exodus 16:11-21.
God heard [the Israelites], and
responded by promising to provide for them. Those of us who attended Sunday
school know the story well -- each morning, flakes of bread (manna) appeared on
the ground; in the evening, quail covered the camp. But they couldn’t hoard
what they gathered, and they couldn’t store it. Moses instructed the Israelites
to gather only what they needed for the day -- no more, no less. Tough to do
when you’re thinking about what the kids will eat for breakfast!
Why was limiting what they gathered
important to God? Because the Israelites needed to understand what we all need
to learn -- that we can sustain a relationship with God only in the present.
Our past is nothing more than the story
of how we got to where we are, and dwelling on it causes us to become stagnant
and unsatisfied. We can’t find God by worrying or dreaming about the future,
either, because that just makes us want to control whatever lies ahead.
Yes, we have concerns and hopes and
dreams for the future. But this story tells us that we can live out our
relationship with God only in the here and now. God longs for us to trust Him
every hour and every minute of today.
-- From the “Men’s Devotional Bible”
#4575
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