Monday, April 19, 2010

My Daily Bread, Finding and Loving Manna

This writing is a short testimony describing my personal experience with Deuteronomy 8:3, which says, "Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

For the last four years I have been a man completely unable to provide for his family. This experience has been challenging as well as humbling, mostly because it seems that no amount of my own effort has really made a significant difference in the situation. Yet in all that time we have never gone without a single basic necessity. There were many very uncertain moments, sometimes days or even weeks, of not knowing where provision was coming from. Yet God would provide. That isn't to say that all of our bills have been paid on time or even paid at all. We haven't been able to pay a mortgage payment in many months. We also had to give both of our cars back to the bank. Many times we were down to the last "creative meal" put together from nearly empty cupboards. Yet God would provide before the cupboards were completely empty. We are also still in our house and have never gone without the ability to get from A to B when we needed to.

During this time I have learned many very valuable lessons. However, there are three things that stand out the most. God is truly a perfect provider, his love is enough for me, and he is the one that defines what my needs are. These lessons have sometimes been difficult to grasp when my perceived needs have gone unmet. Yet in God's perfect and long suffering love for me he has adjusted my sight. Not literally my eyesight but my spiritual sight of him, and my perspective of how he sees me. Today I am able to take God at his word no questions asked. I also know without any doubt that nothing can separate me from God's perfect love. I'm like a child believing with a simple yet profound certainty who says "my daddy says so".

For the Israelites, Manna was a food provision. For me it is the latter part of Deuteronomy 8:3 "we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord". If you're struggling in difficult circumstances and are not able to see God as the perfect provider that he is, I encourage you to ask him to adjust your vision and allow him to redefine your needs. He has never once let me or my family down, and he will and is doing the same for you even if you can't see it. His promises are trustworthy and always yes and amen! Manna, one of God's many perfect provisions, is our daily sustenance, but it may be a food previously unknown to you.