There is a very real danger in feeling self-sufficient. It’s amazing how fast we humans forget where God has taken us from and all that He has graciously provided for us – rather than remaining poor in spirit, we become quite proud, self-righteous, and smug! I know it has been true for us, as well as for many people we’ve talked with, that times of extreme economic hardship have been times of accelerated growth for us. When we realize that God is the provider of our daily bread, when we see Him as the source of everything, when we are forced to trust Him, it transforms us! Just as He uses these times in our lives, God had a daily object lesson waiting outside the tent flaps of the Israelites.

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Exodus 16:2-3
Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
(NKJV)

Oh, dear. We are so quick to forget.

In a very short period of time, these people have been reintroduced to the God of their fathers. He has answered their cries and addressed their questions – He had not fogotten them or the promises He had made to their fathers, He had not lost control, He was aware of their sufferings, and He was indeed the one supreme God – the King of kings and Lord of lords. They had seen the plagues and how they had been miraculously spared, they had walked out of the captivity and oppression of Egypt, God had split the red sea and allowed them to cross on dry ground, and then they were firsthad witnesses of the complete destruction of the Egyptian army.

And now…

“Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Seriously??

And then God mercifully answers – You think your oppressors in Egypt can provide meat and bread better than the creator of the universe, better than the I AM?

And He provides. Bread from heaven, meat on a delivery schedule. “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” Exodus 16:12

[By the way, the word "manna" simply means, "What is it?" They had never had anything like it and didn't know what to call it, so they called it, "What is it?"!!]

And so it was that for years in the wilderness, the people would wake up in the morning, open their tent flap, and sure enough… the I Am, Yahweh, the Powerful Promisekeeper had provided again. Every single day they were completely dependent on His miraculous provision. And every single day He provided.

In fact, if they didn’t trust Him and decided to gather extra, thinking that He might not come through the next day… lo and behold, they had a stinky jar of maggots. Why?!? God isn’t just on some sort of power trip! What is the purpose of them not gathering ahead? Exodus 16:4- And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. This was a daily test: do you trust Me? Do you believe that I AM who I say I AM, that I will do what I say I will do? Will you believe and obey?

Normally, we are not so obviously forced to be dependent on God for the basics of food and water. We have the perception of control, thinking that we go to work, we make money, we buy what we need, and then say a prayer over the meal as we eat. Have we truly internalized, as the Israelites were supposed to do, that every single thing we have is from the hand of God? The lie that we deserve ____ is incredibly dangerous in our walk with God.

In Deuteronomy 6:10-12, Moses is warning the Israelites of this tendency.

“So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full— then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Beware, lest you forget. Don’t forget who gave you the ability to work, who has kept you healthy and strong and mentally able to earn money. Don’t forget that we don’t deserve anything other than hell – that’s all we have “earned” by our own efforts apart from Him!! He gave us grace – He gave us life, salvation through Christ, daily access to Him, lives with purpose, and ultimately a home in heaven with Him.

When we really understand what it means that God provides our daily bread – that everything we have is a gift from Him, we have begun to understand the fullness of God’s grace and forgiveness. And when we understand grace, we are compelled to show it to others.

Matthew 6:11-12
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.