“This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded: ‘Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons. Take ye every man for those who are in his tents.’ And the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. And when they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.” (Exodus 16:16-18, KJ21).
When is enough, enough? When is the
amount sufficiently consumed, sufficient? When is the need supplied, adequate? In all
human hearts from which we can easily be deceived comes a web of looking just
beyond, of desiring more than we have and of being entangled in our own lusts
and greed. We can be tempted to gather more than we need, consume more than
enough and yet can find ourselves not sufficiently satisfied or fulfilled. It happens with food, it happens with material
things and it happens in our pursuit of peace and pleasure. To be satisfied with enough is sometimes elusive in our
daily pursuits and thus dissatisfaction leads to our being tempted and in the
end to our being overtaken by lust, pride and greed greatly affecting our physical, emotional,
psychological and spiritual health and well- being.
God’s commands and His pathways will direct
us to true satisfaction in His plan and provision. They protect us from our
ultimate discovery that we have been fooled by our own sinful hearts. The manna, which is the daily bread that He
gives, will always be enough when we trust in Him. The joy He gives in the tangible
and the intangible is always more than enough … in fact it is more than we can
imagine (Ephesians 3:20). The boundaries He lays out to protect us from the
excesses and heartache of sin coming from our lusts, pride and greed are always
real, accurate and true. The problem mostly
lies with us. The problem for the
Israelites wasn’t with the manna but with their attitudes, their thoughts and
their hearts. The problem with not
having enough, lies many times with our not seeing what we have, as
enough. The real problem lies with us
being greedy, lustful and prideful. We can be just like the Israelites in finding or creating our own problems even as God is loving, guiding and providing for us. We can fail to see all that He gives, as enough for the day. In fact, we can be just like
them, never entering the Promised Land
or we can find joy in our being His children, always knowing He will give more than enough in
the Land of Milk and Honey.
Heavenly
Father, protect us from ourselves. Let us be always thankful in all that You
give us. For You, are our Father, help us to always remember this. You give us only good things and provide more
than we can imagine … over and over again.
Give us this day our daily bread and lead us not into temptation but
deliver us from any evil ways we might be contemplating. Help us to remember
that your ways are always true and perfect . We thank You, as we trust You, on
this day and for all our days. For Yours is the Kingdom, Glory and Power
forever and ever. Amen.
Suggested Reading … Exodus 16
No comments:
Post a Comment