Words like Manna

It is the start of a new year, and it somehow feels to me like the first blog post of the year should be a special one. It should inspire and encourage readers, and set the perfect tone for the year to come.

That is rather scary. And a lot of responsibility…

What most of you probably don’t know, is that usually I have no idea what the blog post will be about when I sit down to write. I ask God what he wants to communicate today, and the story unfurls from there. So today I started exactly there again – I asked God what I should write. And the verse that came to mind was this one:

Psalm 3:8 (WEBBE): ⁸Salvation belongs to the LORD.
May your blessing be on your people.

Blessing! That is a great topic for a first post for the year! So i jumped right in and started to search for other mentions of blessings in the Bible. And the information started to pile up and pile up in my mind in a large, disorganized jumble. So many good topics – where to start? Which angle to take? This is a good indication that I had missed the original message and gone off on my own tangent in my own ‘wisdom’.

1 Corinthians 14:33a (WEBBE): ³³for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace

I felt anything but peaceful, so I decided to take a break and feed our darling little Schnauzer his lunch. As I was moving about, I was thinking about this mess that I had created, still trying to solve it on my own. (Yes, you may roll your eyes now.) Maybe I should start making a list, and prioritize the possible topics, and then write one for today and starting working on the rest that may very well last me half of the year.

And then that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit whispered real wisdom: “Messages are like manna in the desert. There will always be a new one next time, exactly perfect for that day. Don’t collect them and store them up and let them go stale!”

That was at once an aha! moment, and one of extraordinary peace.

Matthew 6:31-34 (WEBBE): ³¹“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.

Philippians 4:4-7 (WEBBE): ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, “Rejoice!” ⁵Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

I am filled with gratitude for this lesson that I have learned today. God will provide all that we need – physical and spiritual – every single day. Not only is resting in Him, trusting in His provision, a peaceful place to be. It is also far more efficient than trying to accomplish everything on our own!

But there is more to it than just knowing that God will provide.

John 14:26 (WEBBE): ²⁶But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.

The Holy Spirit lives inside each of us, to teach us all things. But the best teacher in the world will not get far with a pupil that refuses to learn. It is tempting to cling to what we already know, what is familiar, and refuse to learn new things. But that would be like scooping a bucket of water out of a river, and turning your back on the rest of the river forever. The bucket of water will only get you so far.

This year, be open to the teaching of the Holy Spirit. And you will learn INCREDIBLE new things!