Just Enough for Today

I will admit it.  I worry some about the future.

I am not concerned for my life, for I am secure in its end.  I do not wish it to end any time soon however, as I REALLY have some things I hope to resolve, repair, and renew. :)

My concerns are more about the financial realm.  I am incurring a large amount of medical bills due to this whole cancer and chemo therapy thing.  I do not wish to leave things unpaid for my heirs, nor do I want to have to claim bankruptcy.  I want to pay my bills completely and on time.

I am by no means complaining.  I know that when I need it, I will have it available.  That is the lesson from Exodus 16:12-18 (KJV):

"I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.  And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.  And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.  And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.  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 them which are in his tents.  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.  And when they did mete 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."

Again, we join the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Zin.  They have barely left Egypt.  They are fussing about being in the desert and having nothing to eat.  God heard their murmuring and told Moses that He would provide quails in the evening and bread in the morning.

That evening and 6 days a week, every week, the quail showed up.  The children ate meat in the evening.

In the morning and 6 days a week, the manna was there.  Manna was to be gathered and ground and bread was to be made from it.

I find it humorous that manna basically means "What is it?"  Isn't it ironic that we rarely see and/or understand God's blessings when they first appear.

I also find it interesting that no matter how much anyone gathered, once it was measured, those who gathered a lot and those who barely gathered each had just enough.

Dear Lord, please help me know you will provide exactly what I need, exactly when I need it.  I don't have to understand it, I merely have to thankfully accept your provision and steward it in the manner you desire.


2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (KJV)

For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Rejoice and be glad.

Are We There Yet?

I admit it. I am not a big fan of asking for directions. I'm a guy.  I don't think it is a sign of weakness or an admission of being "geographically misplaced" but more as an inconvenient stop that would delay my getting back on the right track. I can usually get pretty close to what I am looking for, but, as they say, "the devil is in the details." These days I have my trusty smartphone with the mapping functions. I have used the GPS navigation in a vehicle before, but I am just not a fan of my car talking to me. Just give me a map. I imagine Moses could have delivered the children of Israel to the Promised Land sooner had he stopped and asked for directions.

Alright, the last sentence was meant to be a joke, but it is somewhat curious that an 11 day journey took 40 years to complete. Reading the Exodus story, there are many things going on during the travels (and travails, if you will) of this journey.

First, it had to be a logistical nightmare. Attempting to coordinate that many folks without the conveniences of modern communication is a task I would not want to be assigned.

Second, the people kept departing from God's ways. They would be given simple instructions and fail to complete them or totally disobey, or there would be infighting about who should be leading.

One of the ironies of the journey of Exodus is where they traveled. They seemed to be in the Wilderness of Zin (pronounced sin, ironic, no?) pretty often. Isn't that fitting. When we sin, we are lost in the wilderness trying to find our way. We will circle and circle, but never manage to get out on our own. Finally, God has to intervene to pull us out of sin.

I'm glad my journey through the Wilderness of Zin was not a full 40 years, though I have been know to make a left turn headed back in that direction if I am not diligently following the directions provided to me.  But God had a purpose for those 40 years for His people, which He tells them:

Deuteronomy 8:2 (KJV)

"And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no."

While the loops around the desert were to chastise their repeated disobedience (verse 8:5), there were other reasons:

* to humble them-I would image the feeling of overwhelming pride/conceit which could have arisen during the Exodus (immediately after departing anyway): God had just presented miraculous plagues to Egypt and He called you His people; you "borrowed" all kinds of precious metals from the Egyptians, knowing you would never be returning; and, God just crushed the Pharaoh's army under the waves of the Red Sea. Just seems to me that an Air of Superiority could develop.
* to prove them-many issues arose and individual, groups, and an ENTIRE generation were preened from the Children of Israel due to their disobedience, sin, or unbelief. God wanted those faithful followers to enter the Promised Land.
* to know what is in their hearts-in 40 years, people have a great opportunity to come to know God and His law (at the time, they were under the law not stating that we still live under the law), and God could gauge His people by the prolonged exposure to them, whether they would remain faithful and keep His commandments or not.

Number 3, is no dig on the Omnipotence or Omniscience (all powerful or all knowing) nature of God. He knew their heart, but going back to number 2, he was allowing them to prove it. Actions speak louder than words.

Remember, when you feel like you are stuck in a prolonged trial, God has a reason for it.  It could be one of the three above.  But when you finally stop wandering through the desert, you can enter the Promised Land.