Ringtail Cats and Rocking Chairs - Pt 3

And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. (Exodus 16:15-20 ESV).

The story of our reading is a continuation from yesterday. Moses instructed the people that they would be provided with enough “manna” that they would have each day’s food. They only needed to gather it each day, and a double ration on the day before Sabbath. The people ignored the instructions they were given and tried to store up food “just in case.” They didn’t trust God to provide for their needs. Unfortunately that is a common experience among all of us. We may talk about how much we believe and trust God to provide for us, but our practice is entirely different than our profession. Taking a weekly day of rest is a sign that we trust God. Taking one day a week to let go of our endeavors to survive the present and prepare for the future shows that we trust God that his provision for the present is adequate and his promise for the future is sure. When we have a weekly rhythm of a day of rest, we stand alongside the old covenant saints who trusted God to provide for their needs. We stand alongside Jesus, who rejected Satan’s attempt to convince him to look after his own needs, by recalling that we live not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (cf. Matthew 4:4). We live with integrity as people who pray “give us this day our daily bread” (cf. Matthew 6:11), and then trust God to do it. As finite creatures, we declare our trust in the resources of the infinite Creator, who provides us with every blessing (cf. Ephesians 1:3; 1 Timothy 6:17). When we commit to enjoy a weekly day of rest in the busiest seasons of life, we declare our trust in God even more loudly (cf. Exodus 34:21). More than anything we are able to trust the God who does indeed provide all our needs to do precisely as He has promised. And, that is the essence of faith. That same faith leads us to hope. Then that hope produces in us a courageous ability to face every circumstance in strength. It begins with rest.