Enough for each day.

“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