Thursday Scripture: Exodus 16
In the Wilderness
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When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.
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. This is what the Lord has commanded:
‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take a pound for each person you have in your tent.’”
The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.
And when they measured it by the pound, 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.
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In captivity, there was never ENOUGH.
Survival was a struggle, and everyone needed a little more than they could get.
In the wilderness the people had to learn how to trust God to provide ENOUGH.
Just enough for those who gathered much.
Just enough for those who gathered little.
ENOUGH was not in the gathering.
It was in the hand of God.
We're blessed to live in the richest land on earth.
Solomon in all his glory could never have dreamed of all our necessities, much less all our wants.
But in some ways, this is still a land of captivity.
Our entire economy is based upon the idea that we can never have quite ENOUGH.
I wonder if the wilderness of 2020 might be the journey where we finally find ENOUGH?
It's not a matter of how much we can gather.
It's a matter of trusting God's hand.
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Manna from heaven came down.
Miraculous mystery from God.
Jesus said, “I am this bread...
Given for the life of the world.”