Manna

Manna from heaven. What a fabulous sound that has. Blessings raining down from heaven overnight, there for the taking in the morning. Amazing.

The Gathering of the Manna - 1460-1470

And yet there is a rule, a law, to the manna.

To refresh our memories, when the Israelites fled Egypt – after years of slavery, after the plagues and Passover, after the parting of the Red Sea – they faced even bigger challenges. They were on the way to the Promised Land, but meanwhile here they were in a desert with only the provisions they could carry with them. As it turned out they would wander this desert for 40 years, as the story goes, but, even in the short term, what would they eat tomorrow. Or today?

So God told Moses that he’d rain down manna every night in the desert and in the morning the people could gather the manna and have their food for the day.

The Gathering of the Manna
James Tissot

And here comes the rule: manna is supplied for this day only. One was not supposed to take tomorrow’s manna today. Except for the day before the Sabbath, one was only supposed to take enough manna for today. And, in fact, if you took manna for two days, when you woke up and wanted to eat on day two, that manna was spoiled. The manna only lasted one day.

One might say why would you take two days’ manna since more would be provided tomorrow? But believing that tomorrow’s manna would be there tomorrow requires trust. Since we know the end of the story, since we know that God kept supplying the manna for as long as the Israelites needed, we have that trust.

But imagine being out in a desert with your whole family, wanting and needing to provide for them, not really knowing where you’re going, not knowing where your next day’s food will come from, thinking that perhaps this manna on the ground today is just a one-time serendipity, a fluke. Under those circumstances one could be forgiven for sneaking a bit of extra manna into one’s pouch … just in case.

But the rule of the manna is: you are provided with what you need for today. Don’t try to take for tomorrow or it will be spoiled.

And aren’t we in the same predicament in our lives every day? We have what we need for today and we worry about next week or next month or next year. Not that we shouldn’t be prudent and save and take whatever steps we can to provide for a secure future to the best of our ability. But after a few prudent steps taken in faith, we really need to let it go. Being upset that we don’t have September’s mortgage on August 1 is not helping us. God provides for today, not for tomorrow.

A 12-Step fellowship, Debtors Anonymous, has a piece of literature – I think of it as a sort of prayer – called the Just for This Day Bookmark. The opening line is: Just for this day, I will be grateful that I have enough food to eat and a place to sleep. If I lack either of these, I will ask for help.”

When I first heard that prayer it made me very angry. What do you mean I have to be grateful that I have enough food to eat and a place to sleep? What a low bar that is. What about my visions, my dreams? Why settle for so little?

But, in reality, big visions and dreams are built on small gratitudes. Relishing my dreams and visions but holding them lightly while trusting in Spirit that all is and will be provided is the practice of a happy life today and possibly the foundation of big things to come.

So today I try to follow the rule of the manna: appreciate and gather all Spirit is providing today. And I will not worry about tomorrow, next week, next month or next year.

God did not promise the Israelites food for the year, only food for the day. That is a good remembrance and formula for living.