Theology you can hold in your hand. It’s strange. It’s somewhat fragile. It’s holy. It appeared with the morning dew and it was always just what was needed. Never less. Never more.

In the book of Exodus, the Israelites had just been delivered from slavery in Egypt. They may have been free but they were now hungry. They began whining and complaining. Even though freedom had come, bondage has an appeal when we think it can provide for us. Fear drives us to believe we’d be better off a slave to whatever master is calling. God in His goodness responds with bread raining down from heaven.

Manna.

Manna quite literally means “What is it” coming from the phrase “man hu”. The ground was now covered in something unknown and new. Delicate and supernatural. No one planted it or tended to it. No one recognizes what it is. No one understands it. That is the echo of grace. God often moves in ways we don’t understand. He provides in forms we may not immediately recognize. We can’t earn our portion of it and we don’t always feel like what we are getting is the answer to the question we asked. It’s mysterious and mighty.

When you look at what manna consisted of, scripture quite literally calls it wafers made with honey. It’s light, small, delicate, sweet, and temporary. When the sun came out, it melted. Delayed obedience may have meant missed provisions. It couldn’t be hoarded or stored because it would spoil. It only appeared for their forty years and then it was gone again. This was designed to break the illusion of self-sufficiency. Even its color was a symbol of purity and holiness. Much like the grace we are offered, it can’t be earned or manufactured by human effort. It is simply received.

This tested the people of Israel. It refined their obedience, trust and dependence. It tested if they believed God would continue to be their provider and every morning would require renewed trust. This story is a reminder that God will sustain us in impossible places. See, manna became a testimony. It’s the reminder that God has already carried you through impossible odds.

Later in John, Jesus declares that He is the bread of life. He comes down from heaven, sustains our eternal life, requires our daily dependance, meets us in the wilderness and offers us grace that can’t be earned. He will give us enough for the day. I know we want to seek the answers for tomorrow or figure out the crazy future ahead. The big 5 year plan comes to mind. We don’t have to panic. He is breaking the illusion that we can sustain ourselves or earn grace. He gives us enough grace for today, enough strength for today, enough wisdom for the day, enough peace for the day.

It’s a choice to go out and gather it in the morning. To start the day seeking Him. It’s an invitation into trusting that God has you in the palm of His hand. We can’t seek certainty before obedience. We can’t crave provision before movement. We have to trust before we ever get visible outcome. Your relationship with Jesus cannot survive on yesterday’s intimacy. See, God’s presence tomorrow is more dependable than our own attempts to control tomorrow today, we just have to keep seeking intimacy with Him.

This is why we are reminded “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” in Matthew 6:34.

God is not dismissing the hardship. He is reminding us that He has always sustained His people and He will always give us exactly what we need. Never more. Never less.

I don’t know about you, but any attempts at hoarding control I’ve had has only ever led to over planning, anxiousness, obsessing, and even discouragement. Control is a TERRIBLE savior. God already knows tomorrow’s needs. The same God who covered the ground with manna is still able to sustain His people today. Our wilderness seasons can create dependency and therefore; intimacy… if we let it.

He is near.

He is faithful.

He is enough.

Under the Sun.