Manna

Sometimes manna in the wilderness seems more like a punishment than it does provision. Sometimes manna looks like seasons of shifting, silence, loss, and uncomfortable transitions.

Manna was God's way of caring for his people when they were on their way to somewhere new, a place he promised them. I wasn't there, but I'm sure eating the same thing a million times over got old and boring. What a boring thing to eat and repeat over and over again when you know there is something else you want. I surely would've complained ungratefully about the monotony of this provision.

But since I am not God, I fail to realize the preparation and the transformation that happens in manna season. For me, it is hard (if not impossible for my brick head) to see and understand the blessing behind the manna while I am in the middle of the wilderness. I just want to hurry up and get to the good stuff. But what if my humanity limits me from understanding that the manna is also good stuff I need? When I sit down and God reminds me who he is, I remember the promises he kept with his people then and can trust him with the timing in both the wilderness and the promise land.

Joshua 5:11-12 says, "The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan".

Here looking at my promise land after a season in the wilderness, I am left in awe. I imagine the abundant fruit that will come out of this season and would not change one moment of manna. In fact, I even find myself appreciating the boring repetition of the manna the last several months because God gave me a glimpse of how I needed to experience that before I would be ready for this. I know that the moments of struggle and frustration and wanting to give up are not in vain. I know that, despite my lack of understanding, God knows what I need in each season to properly prepare me for the next.

I hope that in the next wilderness season I will remember how he was faithful both long ago and also now with me. I want to look back at this picture and know that the manna was God's patience preparing me for the fruit to come.

Whether you are in a season of manna in the wilderness or fruit in the promise land, hang on friend. This story isn't over. Remember that seasons come and go, but God is the same forever and ever. In whatever season we find ourselves, let's keep showing up and giving God all of us, knowing we can trust in his goodness and his faithfulness for us and those around us.