Even if God showers us
With ten thousand days times three
We cannot save a single one
For ourselves keep
Like manna in the wilderness
He gives one loaf each day
And asks us with our neighbor to
Share it along the way
But when we hoard it is a sin
An unbelieving seed
And traveling with that visitor
Are worry, stress and greed
Till soon that good, sweet manna
Turns to be as dry as sand
Until we joyfully accept
What God puts into our hands
Then by His daily miracle
He teaches us to trust
That even just one loaf of bread
In God’s own hand is much!
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat'
John 6:31 ESV
One Loaf of Bread by Peter Caligiuri copyright 2022 all rights reserved
…The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:5b-6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/php.4.5-6.ESV
Just a brief encouragement today for those who like me are seeking God’s direction yet feeling as if we are at a dead end. Thankfully Jesus specialized in showing up for his disciples at times just like that! In storms, in locked rooms or at gravesides Jesus came near. And when He came, he always began with same message. “It is I. Don’t be afraid! In today’s passage Paul begins by reminding us that our reason for confidence and peace in our prayers begins with one fact. Jesus is at hand. He is so close that we can reach out and touch Him just as Thomas did. So as we go about our journey we can put anxiety to rest with three simple truths. He is near, He is listening and He promises to answer. May God bless us this weekend as we rest secure in knowing that He is within our hand’s reach, He listens to our prayers and calms every fear with His message. “Do not be afraid!”
As we grow older often our tendency is to look back at past chapters in our lives and wistfully wish we could relive them. We think of how much energy we had when we were younger, forgetting our doubts, fears and impatience with others. We were always in a hurry but often getting nowhere. Or perhaps we look a little later, remembering fondly how we held our babies or walked our toddlers to their first day of school. But God has an entire novel to write in our lives and though our earlier chapters were needed to build the plot, He has no desire to include them in the climactic ending of His story line.
In today’s verse where Jesus told us to pray for our daily bread, He was referring to the days when the people of Israel were wandering for forty years through the desert. They had no crops to harvest or village markets to purchase food in. Instead, God provided them every morning with one day’s supply of a Heavenly food called manna. It was said to have the sweetness of honey and the lightness of wafer. (A true angel food cake!) God also provided some rules about the manna. There was to be no gathering extra. Those who chose to disobey found that by nightfall it turned rotten and had worms crawling around in it. Yuck! But on Friday they were told to gather for two days so they could rest on the Sabbath. That manna stayed good for two days. God was determined to teach them the same lesson we need. We should not waste time and effort piling up manna and missing the living we should be doing with those around us. By tomorrow, yesterday’s manna will stink! We must always trust that each morning God will give us what is best, and that it will be what is the very best for us. He hasn’t forgotten us, and the very best chapter that He is writing in our story is now!
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