Manna
Miracle of the Manna
In the Old Testament Book of Exodus, we find the story of the Israelites and their
wandering in the wilderness. As God's people journeyed through the
wilderness on their long trek to the Promised Land, God provided food for
them by raining down manna. Day after day, for forty years, the people
received the manna from heaven. Although they wandered in a sparsely
vegetated area that lacked enough natural vegetation and wild game to feed
the vast throng of people, they never went hungry.
When God began to rain down the manna from heaven, he instructed the people,
through Moses, to gather only as much of the manna as they needed for that
day. If they gathered more, so that they would have enough for tomorrow, the
excess would spoil and be unfit to eat. God provided the people exactly what
that needed for that day. God faithfully provided the people with manna, one
day at a time, for forty years so that they could learn a lesson that is
essential to the journey of spirituality: that God is a faithful, dependable
Provider who can be trusted.
The miracle of the manna is absolutely relevant to those of us today who
have embarked on the journey of spirituality through the wilderness of
change and growth. The same loving God, who watched over and provided for
the Israelites of old, watches over our spiritual journeys as well! As he
did in ancient days, God continues to provide and care for those who journey
by faith.
The miracle of the manna from heaven dramatically portrays essential aspects
of the journey of spirituality. The story of the manna teaches us that we
must live one day at a time in complete trust and dependence on God. Also,
the story teaches us that we must live by faith, not by sight.
These ideas are developed in great detail in my new book, Ashes into Gold: The
Journey of Spirituality. I hope you will read this book, as well as
The Gospel and the Twelve Steps: Following Jesus on the Path of Recovery,
to learn more about the journey of faith.
God speed you on your journey!
Martin M. Davis, author & counselor
