I was reading in Exodus recently and something struck me. The mana that God provided for His people was something that had to be gathered each day. It could not be kept for the next day or stored for future use. ( with the exception of the sabbath, which was the day that was supposed to be set apart for time with God exclusively) Also, God led His people each day with a pillar of cloud or a pillar of fire, whether by day or night respectively. Both of these acts of provision--nourishment or direction--were intended as training for the day-to-day reliance on God. It also set a precedent for us.
How often have we gained a new revelation about God, or gained some insight into His character and then rested in that "new" thing indefinitely? I have been thinking about how the Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I believe that God did what He did with the Israelites because it was what they needed in order to be His people, and because it set up examples for us to follow (like road signs, not blueprints) to better know how to walk in relationship with God.
We have to seek God EVERY day to find out what He is doing in our sphere of influence (our family, job, friends, church, and personal growth). If we do not seek it each day, then what we have runs the risk of becoming stale or, like the mana, it may rot and become unpalatable to us.
If we look through God's eyes at the mana situation, then we see that the mana was just a tool: it was God that nourished them. In the same frame of thought, it is not the individual revelations of the character of God that makes ours lives full and fulfilled, but the actual contact with God at the moment of revelation that was the true inspiration.
We all need to try to stop looking at the modes of provision and learn to rely on the Provider and the relationship that His methods of provision imply that He desires with us.
This is good B!!
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