For years, manna has been my "go-to" description of a hard season. When business is trickling in, the budget is tight, and I'm wondering how long I can last... I call it a season of "manna." Out of one side of my mouth I've criticized the Israelites for complaining that Yahweh gave them boring food, and out of the other side I've used the same analogy to complain to the Father that I can't last on manna for very long.
I'm a hypocrite. No surprise there, right? (Can I get an amen?!)
But, recently Jesus re-branded manna for me. And I was shocked at what I found.
I've read Exodus many, many, many times. And just like the living Word loves to do, I read it yet again but saw something I had never seen before.
All those years it's been sitting there and I just ignored it. But not this time. This time I finally saw what manna *actually* is.
Exodus 16:17-18
The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
The miracle of manna is so much more than I realized.
As if bread appearing on the ground wasn't enough of a miracle, the people were experiencing a daily "loaves and fish" kind of magic. They didn't just take what they thought they needed, find out if wasn't enough, and then go hungry for half the day.
They took what they thought they needed and it was miraculously the perfect amount.
I've often pictured these women going out to the field and trying to predict exactly how much they needed for their family that day.
I've imagined these mothers thinking: "Well, Sammy didn't eat much yesterday so I better get him a little less this time, but Eli has to help dig that hole later so he'll be more hungry than usual." Or, "Oh well, if I don't get enough I'll just share some of my portion with the children and be hungry."
You know, just normal parenting stuff.
But no. Yahweh's provision for His people was exactly enough for that day. "The one who gathered much" wasn't left with too much by accident...it seems to say. "The one who gathered little did not have too little."
Manna was teaching God's people about abundance.
We often recognize that manna was teaching the people to rely on the Lord daily. It was the actual lived experience of "daily bread."
But I always thought manna came with the added challenge of living lean.
What I hadn't realized is it was the very opposite: manna was teaching God's people about abundance.
Abundance ≠ wealth.
Abundance ≠ prosperity.
Abundance ≠ every desire.
The economy of the Kingdom of God is totally different than our economy. His abundance is endless and freely given.
But, God's abundance doesn't look or feel or behave like money.
Money reminds you that you don't have enough of it. Money makes you watch every penny spent because it will eventually be gone. Money comes with no promise of being multiplied. And as we all know, the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy).
God's abundance feels like freedom, provision, and never wondering if there will be enough.
Where He goes is abundance. Where He goes is provision. Where He goes is manna that appears *every* day without fail. Where He goes is manna that fills your belly no matter how much you eat. In His presence is nutrient-rich manna that won't run out before you're done. He gives a manna that required nothing of you but to show up.
That's it.
Just show up.
So from now on, I think I'll call every season of provision and joy and abundance a "manna" season. And I pray for you the same... a life filled with reliance on the God and the experience of His abundance.