The Miracle of the Manna

In the Old Testament Book of Exodus, we find the story of the Israelites and their wandering in the wilderness. As God's people journeyed through the wilderness on their long trek to the Promised Land, God provided food for them by raining down manna. Day after day, for forty years, the people received the manna from heaven. Although they wandered in a sparsely vegetated area that lacked enough natural vegetation and wild game to feed the vast throng of people, they never went hungry.

When God began to rain down the manna from heaven, he instructed the people, through Moses, to gather only as much of the manna as they needed for that day. If they gathered more, so that they would have enough for tomorrow, the excess would spoil and be unfit to eat. God provided the people exactly what that needed for that day. God faithfully provided the people with manna, one day at a time, for forty years so that they could learn a lesson that is essential to the journey of spirituality: that God is a faithful, dependable Provider who can be trusted.

The miracle of the manna is absolutely relevant to those of us today who have embarked on the journey of spirituality through the wilderness of change and growth. The same loving God, who watched over and provided for the Israelites of old, watches over our spiritual journeys as well! As he did in ancient days, God continues to provide and care for those who journey by faith.
 
The miracle of the manna from heaven dramatically portrays essential aspects of the journey of spirituality. The story of the manna teaches us that we must live one day at a time in complete trust and dependence on God. Also, the story teaches us that we must live by faith, not by sight.

These ideas are developed in great detail in my new book, Ashes into Gold: The Journey of Spirituality. I hope you will read this book, as well as The Gospel and the Twelve Steps: Following Jesus on the Path of Recovery, to learn more about the journey of faith.

God speed you on your journey!

Martin M. Davis, author & counselor