Gathered

 

“These [all creatures] look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. ”

—Psalm 104:27-28

I usually buy groceries once a week. We, in America, generally like to “stock up,” so that we can feel sure we won’t run out of anything. Some like to visit the warehouse food stores to save money by buying in bulk. Some people even stock freeze-dried food and have large underground shelters full of provisions for any upcoming catastrophe.

Contrast all of this with the Israelites that trekked across the wilderness for 40 years. Not only did they not have room for stock piles of food, they had no food to store. They literally lived hand to mouth. Every day they went out. Exodus 16:4, 12 tells us:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions… In the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”

I’ve come to realize that our Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus, wants us to come to Him daily for the provisions we need for the day. We can’t “stock up” for the future. We must come often.

When we gather physical food, we provide ourselves with all the nutrients we need for good health. We get calcium, protein, iron, vitamins and minerals of every kind—all to strengthen us for the day. Not only that, God gives us the capacity to enjoy our food with various tastes and smells.

Just so, we also need to come to our Lord for the spiritual food for each day. He has all the nutrients we need: strength, grace, peace, guidance, help, and much more. Along with those, He gives us the capacity to enjoy His provisions. Just as the frosting on a dessert blesses us with delight, His joy comes as a spiritual frosting on top of the other spiritual blessings He so lovingly provides.

God tests us to see if we can trust Him for our daily food. He will not give us grace for those future days we tend to worry about. But, He will grant us all we can gather up each morning.

Please join me, as we use our imaginations every morning, whenever we gather the abundant provision God has for us. And, in the evening, let us enjoy the remembrance of the tasty day He has afforded us!