Good morning, my brothers! God fed His people in the desert every morning for forty years. There was one thing He wouldn't let them do that too many of us try to do in our walk with Jesus. Let’s go! 4-min, 44-sec read.
Listen to the audio version here:
I'm going to rip the band-aid off right at the beginning. Many of us who've followed Jesus for years are coasting.
We're living off our past hunger for Him. We've got a lot stored up. A stack of Bible studies we did years ago. Volunteer work at the church "back in the day." Verses we underlined in 2004. A season when we were so hungry for Him we couldn't get enough.
Somewhere along the way, we started living off what we’ve stacked on our shelves. Our Bibles sit there, gathering dust.
Bread That Wouldn't Keep
When God fed Israel in the wilderness, He gave them one rule. Gather what you need for today, and don't save any for tomorrow.
Some of them saved it anyway. By morning, it was crawling with maggots and starting to stink. Then Moses adds this.
Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
I'd missed the "melted away" part for years. The manna didn't wait around. Once the heat of the day came, it was gone.
That's our mornings, isn't it? The heat comes fast: phone calls, headlines, a tense word at home, the job, the aches in our knees. If we don't gather before the sun gets hot, we get so distracted most days that we don't gather at all.
Yesterday's Manna
God could've dropped a year's supply of manna in one night, but He chose not to. He didn't want a nation trusting its storehouse. He wanted sons at His table every morning.
Yesterday's manna won't feed today's man. And here's the best news in the passage: for forty years, the bread never missed a morning.
The same Father still sets our table, and fresh bread waits for us tomorrow, bread we've never tasted. It’s in a book, His book. Deeper wisdom He shares each day.
Jesus taught us to ask for it the same way: "Give us today our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11).
Gather Before the Heat
Starting today, let's stop living off the shelves- what we’ve stacked away. Every morning, let's open His Word first thing and come hungry to the Bread of Life.
Some days it might be five minutes, other days 45. Regardless, we show up, we gather.
When a verse grabs us, let's write it on an index card (old school, I know) and pull it out throughout the day. Meditate on it, and memorize it.
And tomorrow, we gather again.
Father, I've been living on leftovers. Thank You that Your bread has never missed a morning. Feed me today, and wake me up hungry for You again tomorrow. Amen.
-Will
More The Man is free because monthly supporters choose to keep it that way. A few dollars a month helps us reach guys still looking to grow closer to Jesus. Would you prayerfully consider Paying It Forward? THANK YOU!
