Excerpted From
My Yes Is on the Table
By Jennifer Hand
Man Cannot Live on Moldy Manna Alone
I am someone who loves her coffee. I have coffee mugs everywhere. My car sometimes looks like a rolling coffee shop. Please tell me that I am not the only one who has this problem. All my to-go coffee mugs have no problem with the to-go part of getting in my car. But for some reason, I have trouble getting them back into the house from my vehicle.
They tend to pile up a bit. The cup-holders—full. The floorboards— full. The trunk, well, it has some as well. Maybe this is why I am still single. No Proverbs 31 woman status here. I am sure she didn’t leave her coffee mugs in the pack of the donkey.
Yesterday I finally got up the nerve to make myself take the cups in and clean them out.
Here’s a little tip for you. When there is a little liquid remaining in the back of the cup, mold tends to form. I think I may or may not have found several cures for cancer in my moldy mugs.
You wouldn’t find me taking a big old swig of what remained in those mugs. If I needed a strong Americano (with cinnamon powder sprinkled on top), I would hop in the car and order a brand-new one.
The Israelites had a problem with mold as well. Their concern was moldy manna. The Lord gave specific instructions for them to gather what they needed for that day.
This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. (Exodus 16:16–18)
Promised the exact provision that they needed for that day.
However, they were afraid. They didn’t trust God with the provisions for the day, so they tried to leave parts of it until morning.
What they got instead of a yummy breakfast treat were maggots and mold. Exodus 16:20 says, “But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.”
I can judge them until I think about myself. I think about how I can try to fight the fear of tomorrow by gathering more than I need for today.
It may not be in trying to stockpile financial resources. It may be in accumulating worries. As if collecting worse-case scenarios in my thoughts can provide the peace that I want.
It may be in stockpiling a sense of control and checking off my to-do list. Making sure everyone likes me all the time. Staying safe and unwilling to risk.
God tells us in Lamentations 3:22–23 that His mercies are new every morning.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34 not to be “anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” Rest in His provision for today. In this same passage, Jesus reminds us that we do not have to worry about our lives. The same God who provides for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field is providing for us.
My big worry about having a ministry tends to be financial. I can find myself asking, will God continue to provide for this yes?
Your big worry might be something completely different. You may feel called to be a stay-at-home mom but worry what others will think. You may sense God calling you to serve on the mission field but don’t know the where, how, or what God has in store.
You may be reading this and want to step out and share the gospel with your friend who doesn’t know Jesus, but you worry you will not have the answers to their questions or the right words to say.
You may be reading this and wondering how you will ever be free from that secret addiction.
God will provide. It may look different than we expect. It may come at a different timing than we hope. But the giver of good gifts will give.
I am continuously amazed at the manna giver. Even as I was writing these words at a coffee shop, I got a notification ding on my watch. Someone had just made a donation to my ministry—unasked for and unexpected.
It made me smile so big at the loving timing of the Lord. I had just typed the words my big worry having a ministry tends to be financial. It was as if God winked, smiled, and said, “Let Me remind you that I give manna in the wilderness.”
Friend, let’s fight fear with the faith that God provides day by day.
It can be tempting to try to fight our fears of tomorrow by gathering more than we need today, but let’s take a page from what the Israelite people learned. There is no need to eat moldy manna.
Excerpted from My Yes is On the Table: Moving From Fear to Faith by Jennifer Hand (© 2022). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.
