My Control and God's Love

So I have started a reading plan from my iPhone Bible app. It is The Essential Jesus in 100 days. Each day I read a passage from the Bible...Old or New Testament...that helps show the significance of Jesus. Yesterday my passage was Exodus 16. This story is one I have heard so many times since I was a kid. It was the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and God giving them manna from Heaven. When I read it yesterday God showed me how this story relates to me.

The background is that the Israelites have been freed from slavery in Egypt. They have seen God's protection and provisions over and over including the parting of the Red Sea and the death of Pharaoh. But instead of being in awe of God and worshiping Him they decide to grumble and long to be back in slavery because they would have food. V. 2 says, "And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled..." And verse 3 says they wished that they "had died...in Egypt, when we sat by meat pots and ate bread to the full." They go on to say that God brought them in the wilderness to let the die of hunger. Oh how many times have I felt this way? I have grumbled to God about my present dilemmas and wished to be back to time when life was not as good because I remember the "good ol' days."  And how does God respond? Does he say, as I would, "Fine...if you don't appreciate all I have done for you, then go ahead and starve!!!" Not even close. In verse 4 He tells Moses that He will send bread from Heaven for the people each morning and meat each night. WOW!!! What grace.

God also gives instructions for using just the amount of bread that each person needs and not to let it sit over night. But what do the people do? They don't trust God and decided to store the bread for the next day. As a result when they wake up it is full of worms and stinks!!!! Oh how often I try and have control of my own situations and what happens? It is full of worms and definitely stinks!!!

God continues with his blessings. So they don't have to work by gathering bread on the Sabbath, he provides double on the 6th day. Sure enough, the bread kept and was good for the next day...no worms, no stink! 

Maybe this is just me but WOW!!! Why do I not trust God? God is faithful. God has always been faithful and has given me no reason to believe He won't continue in His faithfulness. Read this whole chapter and let God speak to you!