Enough for Today

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119: 105, NLT).

One story from the Bible that I’ve reflected upon lately is from Exodus 16 where God provides manna from heaven to sustain the Israelite community. I think it’s important to read the chapter in its entirety, but let’s look specifically at verses 4-5 now:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” 

God has many names, one of which is Jehovah-Jireh. This name, which comes to us in Genesis, means the Lord will provide. There are so many moments I can look back on, and see now just how sovereign the Lord is over every situation in my life. It’s interesting, though, in that it’s so very hard to remember these truths when we’re walking through a difficult season.

Have you ever found yourself like the Israelite community, in a wilderness season, asking yourself when the Lord is going to rescue you from your current situation? We’ve all been there. We believe the Lord will provide. We say we trust Him, and yet, we’re often like the Israelites.

If you continue reading in the story, you come to verses 19 and 20, which says: 

Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

I’m so guilty of this myself. The Lord commanded them to only gather what was necessary for that day. We think we know better and go against the command the Lord has given us.

Maybe it’s with our finances. 

Maybe it’s in our jobs.

Maybe it’s with our health. 

Maybe it’s in our relationships.

What area of your life are you holding too tightly, and like the Israelites, attempting to control situations that we’re being asked to hand over to Jesus and trust Him with the outcome? It’s not easy. In our humanness, I think we’ve all found ourselves in spaces of trying to control situations, rather than trusting the Lord to provide enough for today.

Often, that’s all He will do. I love Psalm 119:105 that reminds me of this truth: 

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

If you’re like me, you like to know what’s ahead. I like to be able to see clearly where I’m going, and honestly, I prefer to know what’s coming three steps ahead. But when we choose to follow Jesus, we must remember that often He will only provide enough for one step at a time.

Whatever space you find yourself in today, I want to encourage you to take 15-20 minutes to read through Exodus 16. Although it can be scary, when we choose to trust Jesus, our Jehovah-Jireh, we can rest assured that He will always give us enough for today.