The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1
Psalm 23:1
“Manna.” If you’re a Christian, you know the word and its story. In Exodus 16, we find the Israelites trekking through the desert grumbling about being hungry and blaming their leader, Moses. “We should have stayed home and taken our chances at being killed,” they said. “Back home, we had all the food we wanted, and now look, we’re starving, and it’s all your fault!” (Sounds like a road trip with the kids, doesn’t it?) Moses knew exactly what to do. He took the problem to God. And God said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.” (Exodus 16:4a) Every morning, small white, round pieces of food appeared with the dew—manna. God provided the exact amount the Israelites needed, no more, no less.This week in southeast Wisconsin, we’ve been walking through a frozen desert. Snow fell from the sky, lots of it, and as we faced digging out, we grumbled. “We should have gone to Florida for the winter! We’re stuck in the snow, and we’ll never get out.” Some of us took the problem to God, and it was no surprise that He provided manna—exactly what we needed, exactly when we needed it.
Tuesday evening a blizzard stranded motorists in their cars on the Interstate. When rescue workers couldn’t reach them, a local snowmobile club heard about it and volunteered to help. Manna. The blizzard got worse. Firefighters and paramedics couldn’t get through city streets to answer calls. The National Guard showed up in Humvees to help out. Manna. By daybreak on Wednesday, the storm had ended, and we faced moving two feet of snow and drifts up to ten-feet high. Neighbors helped neighbors. Strangers helped out. The mayor organized groups of volunteers to help the sick and elderly. Manna. During the Blizzard of 2011, our great and loving God provided for our needs just as he had for the Israelites back in Moses’ time.
Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Whatever we need, whenever we need it, God provides.
What kind of manna has the Lord provided for you?
5 comments:
Hi, Robin.
I always enjoy Ann's blog. I'm sure that her book is filled with wonderful things to ponder. Thanks for stopping by.
Jean
Hi Jean -
I'm so glad they were able to get people the help they needed.
The Lord provided manna in the form of helpful neighbors, family, and friends both during my husband's illness and after he died. I pray that I can be manna for someone else.
Blessings,
Susan :)
Susan, you have been and you are.
Bless you!
Jean
Wow. That is a lot of snow. Glad that it sounds like everyone was okay. I remembering visiting my husband's childhood home in MN and they talked about the survival kits in cars. Can't even imagine being stranded in a car with all that snow.
Jean:
Besides the snow and ice, we have our son moving out of state. God has been good to us through these past few days. Had some set backs but God has worked out ways for us to go forward with our plans.
Post a Comment