What Is It?

He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness. (Deuteronomy 8:16 NIV)

Do you remember the story of the Isrealites in the wilderness and the manna?  Out of food and starving, God's children complain and he answers them with this bread from heaven.  If you recall, the manna came each morning.  The people could only gather up enough for one day... any extra would rot overnight.  So they literally had to trust God for their daily bread.

Something I did not know... the word "manna,"  literally translated, means "what is it."

Every day we collect our own manna... our "what is it."  If we trust God and give thanks we will recognize each gift as nourishment for our soul.  There is so much manna we fail to recognize, and our souls go hungry.  Sometimes we are too busy complaining of hunger to see it.  Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by hurt that we have forgotten how to trust and how to give thanks.  Sometimes, we have an overabundance of fake manna... the stuff that feeds our ego, but not our souls and not our spirits... so we don't bother to look for the true manna.

This manna really is a miracle.  It feeds us in ways we can't begin to imagine until we pick it up, wonder "what is it" and give thanks.  It strengthens us.  It revitalizes us.  It helps us find joy when we thought joy had dried up.

Maybe you didn't find the manna yesterday for whatever reason.  But look for it today.  It may be right under your feet.

Father,
Thank you for feeding us each day... not only our bodies, but our souls.  Help us to find that miraculous manna today.  Amen.