Bread of Life - Pt 1

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.” (Exodus 16:1-4 ESV). In the next few days I am going to be looking at the provision of God. We’ve been looking at the reasons why bad things happen to good people for the past few days. Now we can expand that to understand the compassionate provision of God in the midst of our lives. To begin this little series, we see the Israelites in their journey out of Egypt. They could have easily been called "The Grumblers". Led out of Egypt to escape persecutions and find the Promise Land, God's children never really seemed pleased with their new surroundings. They became hungry and God gave them something to eat. Every morning, thin flakes, like frost, would cover the ground. This was called "manna", and it was like toasted bread. It was sweet like honey. The people could only gather enough for one day's feeding. If they gathered too much it would spoil. The next morning, except on the Sabbath, they would go out and gather more manna. God did this miracle to demonstrate for His people that He could supply all their needs. Perhaps you are at a place where you need such provision. God is able. What are you praying for right now? Do you believe that He can provide it? Do you think the Israelites were originally surprised that God could cover the ground with "frosted flakes" every morning? Of course they were. We don't have a problem believing it now, because it is history, but try believing it before it happens. Let me ask you to simply trust God to provide. Now, He may provide in His way. And, that may a very surprising event. The Israelites may have wanted bagels and they got Frosted Flakes, but God did satisfy their need. Ask God to meet your needs, trust Him to do it, and then wait for His answer! God is still in the manna business today. After all, He is the BREAD OF LIFE!