“There’s no manna!” Tira burst into the tent, breathless.

“What do you mean, there’s no manna?” she asked, annoyed, without looking up. This girl would tell her the sun was missing if she could get out of work.

“I looked everywhere. We all did. It’s just not there. What are we going to eat?”

Her daughter’s trembling question sank doubt’s claw into her own heart. What’s wrong? They walked across the river, and no one got wet. As soon as they were out of the channel, back came the water, high and furious. Then, all the men… What a bloody, messy affair. At least they’d quit moaning and were walking again. They ate the Passover the day before yesterday. Surely that would satisfy Him. What now? She sighed, turned towards Tira, shook her head slightly, and then looked down again at the roasted grain. Wonderful stuff. It was so good to taste something new, different. But was God mad? Weren’t they supposed to eat it? The Levites said it was okay … What was going on?

“Trust Me!” the Lord commands. “Rest in Me.” “Lay down your burden.” “Watch my salvation.” “Cast your cares on me.” Manna fits those thoughts. If the Lord provided manna, why did He stop? Why doesn’t He provide it now? Why did He say we can eat only by the sweat of our brow? Is He making some kind of joke when He says our hunger drives us on? What do we have to do to eat? Rest or work?

Wrong question. The goal is not to get the goods. The goal is trust. When we walk the barren waste with 6 million mouths to feed, He rains down what we need. But delivering manna every day did not build trust. Neither does hard work. Instead, He designed life carefully to always contain a choice. The fruit comes from our cleverness or His provision? Pick one. Ought to be easy, but we’re glory hogs. Fortunately, He also crafted life to keep us just a bit off balance. We hunger for a peace that comes only after crawling off our throne—again—and giving it back to Him—again.

So, how’s He equipping you today?

Joshua 5:2-12; Philippians 3:17-21; Psalm 127:1-2; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10; Matthew 11:25-28; 1 Peter 5:7