God sent hail one day in April… little did I know at the time, that it was manna for me.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you.” Exodus 16:4
Backstory
I vividly remember about six months after Ed passed, I was in a zoom meeting with my counselor discussing all the fears that I was dealing with. I sat in my sunroom… staring out the slider and up at the roof. One of those fears was needing to replace my almost 20 year old roof. I was sweating bullets about having to shell out 15-20K. My anxiety concerning it always stayed in the background noise somewhere. I kept hoping that I wouldn’t need a new roof before I moved. As it turns out, moving is further down the road than I had hoped for. But that’s okay. God would provide.
All along the way, I have tried desperately to trust that God would provide for me in every way. I wavered like I listen to my music… on repeat! In case you haven’t figured it out yet, trusting God has sometimes been a challenge for me. What can I say? I like control. I have lost so much in this life and that loss sometimes tries to steer me… or rather, veer me off the side of the road. So with each passing day, the background noise concerning the roof was coped with by ignoring it and hoping for the best! Whatever that was, I did not have a clue.
Hailstorm
Just shy of two years on this side of losing Ed, God sent a hail storm. Huge hail. Around this same time, it rained so much that we had a “river” running through our property… winding through the woods. I had never seen this come through our property before. It was so fierce, it took out a portion of our marked trail. Other than all of the excitement from these “natural disasters,” I never once thought twice about any of it.
But one day, I started noticing a new look around the neighborhood… several roofing signs advertising new roofs. Odd. It was then I realized a LOT of people were getting new roofs because of the hailstorm! I thought there would be no way that I would be that “lucky.” We have VERY tall trees that over-shadow our home on three sides. And the way the storm hit… I figured there really was no possibility that the hail would have hit the roof that hard. Though… it was in April and there were no leaves yet to shelter from the storm. With some urging from my oldest, I decided that I should probably call my insurance company. It couldn’t hurt to check on it.
The insurance adjuster came out to assess the damage. Two weeks later, I had a full report. They would be replacing my entire roof! Oh my. I am that blessed?! I was still in unbelief! I decided to call a roofing company that a friend had referred me to. Someone she knew and that I could indeed trust. I had heard some horror stories about some of the roofing companies and I didn’t want to have to deal with shortcuts and dishonesty. Trust was vital here. After all, we are talking about the actual roof over our heads! I was still expecting to have to pay out of pocket (other than my deductible). When the roofing guy handed me the paperwork following his evaluation, I was stunned. In awe, really. Such gratefulness abounded up in me from the depths. His quote came in just below what insurance was covering. What? What is this and how can it be? Manna!
Again…
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you.”
God’s largely formed hail, that He sent that April day, was manna from heaven for me.
Manna Through the Years
Throughout the years, there have been a gazillion different times that God has showered us with manna. One of my favorite memories happened about twenty-six years ago. Ed had lost his job… and we desperately needed food for our family. Our church family did not disappoint. We came home from church one day and our entire back porch… probably about a 6’x6’ size, was filled with coolers and grocery bags piled high. Manna! I will never forget the relief that we felt as we unpacked the groceries and began to get creative in where to store it all!
“And my God will supply ALL your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NASB (Emphasis mine)
Our “barn” was overflowing because of the vast storehouse of manna that belongs to Him!
When cancer showed up unwelcomed in our lives…there was manna a plenty then too:
- Great insurance that left little for us to pay
- A vacation to Texas
- Several monetary gifts throughout the whole time
- Kids that helped out repeatedly
- Dinners brought to us
- Gift cards for meals
- A favorite backpack to use while pushing the wheelchair
- Card after card with encouraging words
- Surprise visits from kids provided by a family member at Christmas
- Last minute emergency planes & automobiles (No trains… lol… though they were offered!)
- Thieves cleaning supplies
- A special “frustrations” doll
- A simple cup of coffee
- All expenses reimbursed for treatment in Texas
- A special driver for another to/from Texas for initial evaluation
- Meal Vouchers
- Gas cards... on and on...
I am POSITIVE there are things that I have missed! But everything we needed was provided… when we needed it.
Manna.
Genesis 28:16:
“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!'”
A Wafer With a Little Bit of Honey
So WHAT is manna? First of all, the Israelites question in Exodus 16:15 of, “What is it?” is literally read in Hebrew as “man hu”... which has come to be known as just that… what is it? Exodus 16:31 tells us that it is like coriander seed, white and tastes like a wafer with honey. I kind of imagine those wafers that some churches give out for communion. That doesn’t sound very tasty to me… but perhaps the honey greatly enhances it? Numbers 11:7 tells us a bit more… that it had the appearance of bdellium. Have you seen bdellium? It does not look appetizing. At all. Verse 9 also tells us that it was delivered right along with the dew that God rested upon the earth at night while the Israelites slumbered. Priscilla Shirer calls it, "Cornflakes from Heaven." Either way, imagine eating the same thing for 40 years! Interestingly though, in my research, I have found that no two people taste manna the same. It is different for everyone. So who knows… with God being the miracle worker that He is… maybe it even tasted different everyday? Different forms of manna are used in some cooking yet today. Obviously not miraculous like we saw in Exodus… but intriguing still. This is an interesting read if you have the time. I don’t agree with one of the lines that belittles the miracle that took place in the Bible… but there is plenty of other good information!
Lastly, Psalms 78: 25 tells us that man ate the bread of angels. That sounds like a perfect breakfast to me!
Grumble Grumble, Uh-Oh, There Is a Test?
WHY was there manna? Well, the Israelites had been grumbling about how they had pots of meat and ate bread until they were completely full while back in Egypt. They grumbled that they had been brought out of Egypt into the wilderness to just be killed by hunger. They grumbled to the point of, “If only we had died…” I have done my fair share of grumbling in my grief as well. But, even in the midst of grumbling and complaining… God hears. He decided that He would provide for them and also test them to see if they would listen to Him in the process. So, He gave them instructions to follow and sent all the manna they would ever need. EXACTLY what they would need and when they would need it. Sending a double portion prior to the Sabbath. The question was, would they trust Him? Even after hearing what God would do, they still questioned God (Psalm 78:19), “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?”
He did.
For the Israelites.
And He will Do It Again.
For me.
For you.
Miracle Within A Miracle
HOW did He do it? Miraculously. Just like my roof! I never would have thought in a million years that my roof would be provided through a hailstorm. Without question… it was an act of God that has put new black shingles on my home. The Israelites woke up one morning and there, spread before them, was a new substance… and they “saw the glory of the Lord” (vs7). It was SO miraculous that it didn’t matter how much they gathered… it was JUST ENOUGH for that person! Some gathered much and some gathered a little. But…
“When they measured it by the omer (about 2 qts), the one who had gathered much did not have too much, and the one who had gathered little did not have too little; everyone gathered as much as he would eat.” (Vs18)
A miracle within a miracle!
Trust and Provision
The manna continued to be there day after day WHEN they needed it. Every morning. without fail, God provided for them. Sometimes (like 2 years ago) I get myself worried about something that I know I need and I'm not sure how I will get that need taken care of. And sometimes, I try to do it on my own. But “right now” is not when I need it. But God knows when. Hindsight, if I had tried to take care of my roof prematurely, I may have paid for a new one and missed out on the blessing that was to come. Two years ago, my trust-o-meter was all out of whack. I had prayed desperately for my hubby to be healed here on this earth. But he died. My trust was drained… nearly completely. Similar to the Israelites, I felt abandoned in the wilderness… left to die of starvation. The Israelites didn’t realize it but their trust-o-meter is what was severely malnourished. Of course God heard their grumbling and decided to test them in the process. He told them not to save the provision of manna overnight. He wanted His people to learn to trust Him everyday. He knew they would face other situations in the future that would necessitate complete trust in Him. Some followed… others did not. Those who took matters in their own hands, found worms in their manna the next morning. Thankfully even in their disobedience, God was merciful… and He still provided new manna for each of them every day.
In my own waiting and struggling with trust… I am grateful that my manna is currently worm free! My provision of manna is new every morning that I get up and see my roof. I didn’t know too early… I knew precisely when he wanted me to know… WHEN I needed it.
A favorite quote from Gandalf in Lord of the Rings…
“A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.”
God is never late, my friend.
Nor is He early.
He arrives precisely when he means to.
Do I trust Him?
Spiritually Speaking
If we look at manna in a spiritual context… all the manna that we ever need has already been provided to us through the greatest provision of all… Jesus. Jesus is WHO our true manna is. Bottom line. God sent His Son to meet our greatest need… He loves THAT much!
Back in Exodus, another instruction was given in verses 32-34. Aaron was to keep a full omer in a jar, safe for all generations to see. To remember the testimony of what God had done for them. Miraculously, in Revelation 2:17… that testimony still stands to the one who overcomes… some of the hidden manna will be given. And in-between Exodus and Revelation… is John 6… where we are told by Jesus himself that He is the bread of life… our manna.
Verse 35:
“I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.”
Our provision is Jesus himself. He is the source of our every need because He is our need. To never be hungry… to never be thirsty! WHERE? Here. Today. In the wilderness of grief. Right where I am… no matter where I am… He is there. He is my ALL sufficiency! Because of loss, I tend to fluctuate back and forth between trust and desperation. I trust in Jesus… but the voices of uncertainty and indecision are lurking in my brain from years of a not so great mindset at times. The wilderness brings on the fears. But thankfully, Jesus is here with me. Trust is growing exponentially and the desperation is diminishing with time as I continually feast on the manna of the Word.
Jeremiah 29:13…
“And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with ALL your heart.”
Zoom in and get closer with Him.
Seek Manna day and night till your eyes behold the Promised Land.
“Jehovah still lives, O child of God! Thou hast just buried one very dear to thee, but the Lord liveth still; he never fails. It may be that thy income is getting shorter; the brook Cherith is drying up, and the ravens have not been with the bread and meat lately. Still Jehovah lives; and there is a widow over at Zarephath, who will have her commission to take care of the Lord’s servant. Jehovah lives; his eye is not dim, his ear is not heavy, his arm is not short. Therefore trust thou in the unchanging God, and be not afraid. The manna shall fall from heaven till thou shalt eat the old corn in Canaan.” - Charles Spurgeon
TRAILBLAZING
John 1:1, 14 NASB
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Jesus was there in the beginning, He was in the wilderness, and He is with us in our wilderness. He is our Bread of Life. Our Word - our Manna to partake in every day. Plan to spend even an extra 5-10-15 or more minutes a day talking with Him and searching the Word. One Scripture at a time. It will transform your relationship with Him. Remember, He wants to be found in a daily relationship with us. He is our Daily Bread we have asked for… raining from Heaven. Luke 11:1-4
Manna definition: anything badly needed that comes unexpectedly (Collins Dictionary)
Food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness; divinely supplied spiritual nourishment; a usually sudden and unexpected source of gratification, pleasure, or gain (Merriam-Webster)
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