Manna Awaits You

From today’s reading…

We don’t appreciate things that are just handed to us, which is why it’s not a compliment if someone says “you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

Sure, gifts are nice and all, but as the father of seven I’ve seen many times in the last 23 years what happens to clothes, furniture, and even cars when we have no skin in the game.

For at least 20 years I can count one one hand the number of times I’ve told my kids how to pronounce a word. Instead I reply with “how do you think you pronounce it?” and then I guide them through sounding it out, using it in a sentence, and understanding its meaning.

That’s what God did with the Israelites in the desert. They were stubborn, hard-hearted, and stiff-necked. They even complained that they preferred captivity with food over being hungry but free. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Some things never change.) But as always, God came through and provided for them.

The same is true for you and me. We’re no different from the Israelites. We are stubborn and vain, gluttonous and lustful, hot-tempered and stiff-necked, but God ain’t done with us. He knows how much heat and pressure we need to burn off the junk and refine us down so the purity deep within us shines through. To make that happen, all we have to do is…

Stay the course. Keep the faith. Endure.

Now go sell something.