Ian & Jocelyn Barker

I was reading the Exodus story yesterday and was blown away by some of the profound truths hidden in that story. Of course, we all know that, but it’s easy to forget sometimes. So the Israelites see this huge deliverance as they go through the Red Sea and then go through the desert for three days without water when Moses gets the bright idea to throw a tree into the bitter water they have found and it will turn “sweet”. Sure enough, it works and they are good to go.

But then we get to chapter 16 where the Israelites begin to grumble against Moses and Aaron because they have no food. They would rather go back to Egypt because of the good food that was there which demonstrates the human desire to live with a surety of provision. So God, even though He could have wiped them out, decides to rain down bread on them every day. The miracle of this, is that God wanted the Israelites to have “no excess, and…no lack” (Ex. 16:18). He wanted to completely provide for them every day, but they were not to gather for the next day.

I am struck with how little I trust God to provide for my needs every day. I am so tempted to look ahead and wonder how God will provide the finances for next month. He has done it many times before, but what about next month. God doesn’t want us to worry about this (this is saying nothing about planning). He wants us to trust in Him that He will provide outside of our own strength.