February 4: Trusting His Provision.
HIS SUSTENANCE.
"It is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven."--John 6:32
When my husband was growing up, there were eight members in his immediate family. His parents were very hospitable, therefore there were always many needy people sitting at the table along with them. They were not wealthy, yet somehow there was always enough food for them and their visitors. His siblings always point out that even though they never saw the food multiply; they are sure God frequently and miraculously increased the food so all could be fed.
In his Gospel, John records a lengthy and insightful interaction between Jesus and the people that took place after the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:26-58). Having been miraculously fed, the crowd now asks Jesus to perform another sign, that they may believe in Him. They said: "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness" (verse 31). It was God who had given them the manna, sustaining them in the wilderness, day after day, for forty years. I really like the story of the manna, which is recorded in Exodus 16, please take a moment to read it. Perhaps I would have been among the anxious ones who tried to collect more than one day's supply, not sure if God would provide for the following day....Would I have trusted enough to rest on the seventh day, celebrating my Provider's faithfulness towards His children? Back to John 6, Jesus revealed that the manna was pointing to Him, who was the true Manna that came down from heaven from God. The material provision in the wilderness was pointing to the spiritual Sustenance that we have in Jesus. The first was perishable, but the later is eternal nourishment. Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh" (verse 51). God lovingly provides for all our needs, physical and spiritual. Let's trust His faithfulness towards us, casting our anxieties at the foot of the cross. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
My Response:_________________________________________________
HIS SUSTENANCE.
"It is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven."--John 6:32
When my husband was growing up, there were eight members in his immediate family. His parents were very hospitable, therefore there were always many needy people sitting at the table along with them. They were not wealthy, yet somehow there was always enough food for them and their visitors. His siblings always point out that even though they never saw the food multiply; they are sure God frequently and miraculously increased the food so all could be fed.
In his Gospel, John records a lengthy and insightful interaction between Jesus and the people that took place after the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:26-58). Having been miraculously fed, the crowd now asks Jesus to perform another sign, that they may believe in Him. They said: "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness" (verse 31). It was God who had given them the manna, sustaining them in the wilderness, day after day, for forty years. I really like the story of the manna, which is recorded in Exodus 16, please take a moment to read it. Perhaps I would have been among the anxious ones who tried to collect more than one day's supply, not sure if God would provide for the following day....Would I have trusted enough to rest on the seventh day, celebrating my Provider's faithfulness towards His children? Back to John 6, Jesus revealed that the manna was pointing to Him, who was the true Manna that came down from heaven from God. The material provision in the wilderness was pointing to the spiritual Sustenance that we have in Jesus. The first was perishable, but the later is eternal nourishment. Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh" (verse 51). God lovingly provides for all our needs, physical and spiritual. Let's trust His faithfulness towards us, casting our anxieties at the foot of the cross. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
My Response:_________________________________________________
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