Manna From Heaven
Ahhh...Manna ... Isn't God amazing!?! Have you ever really thought much about the manna that God fed His people with in the wilderness? For a long time, this is all the children of Israel had to eat, right? This food that God gave His chosen people wasn't just some fun salty snack food. This manna needed to be a food that would give all the necessary ingredients for sustaining human life, all while being in a less than hospitable environment. There had to be certain minimum levels (at least) of protein, fat, and carbohydrates ..... as well as other dietary minimums such as minerals, vitamins, etc.! It is incredible to think just how much had to go into those little white wafers. Truly... an incredible design by the most incredible designer of all! However, just like the rest of us humans, they never quite learned how to be content with God's blessings. Being given the most incredible whole foods supplement ever, but... it just wasn't good enough. They just had to have something more. They wanted meat. I wonder if this was a time where God says to himself, " did I really create them this stupid... or what"? ;~)... ok...a little levity!
Okay, let me see if I've got this straight ... God creates us, sets us up in the garden of Eden, gives us every kind of fruit, nut, berry, grains, greens, legumes, and vegetables..... and we are still not happy. In other words, He plucks us from the enemy, plants us in paradise, provides the perfect diet with the freshest foods for the sustenance of our bodies and we say (essentially), "You know God...it's ok, I think I got this! .....Really?..... Are You Serious? O.K., so maybe you think I am taking my analogy a little too far huh? I really don't think so. LOOK... here's how this shakes out... we tell God that we want to treat our physical bodies to almost 'everything but' the best things for it, and still expect it to respond the way He designed it to function under peak conditions. Stupid...right? YES... it is!
If we agree that it is insane to fill our bodies with junk food and then still expect them to perform up to the standards that they are capable of when they have had the proper nutrition, doesn't it stand to reason that this should be the case with our minds as well? Of course it should. God not only took the time to prepare His Word for us, and then to preserve it down through time, but also to make it known to us (understanding) by the power and teaching of the Holy Spirit! In doing so, He has given us ALL the spiritual vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that we need to live the life that He would have us live! What an exciting thought! And yet... we do the craziest thing. Still using the analogy of the physical and the spiritual with "food", it's as if we actually eat that PERFECTLY balanced meal that He has prepared for us one day a week (Sunday...of course) only to pour ourselves a bowl of sugar-covered gummy bears, and chase it with a root beer once a day those other six days and wonder why our body doesn't feel right, and won't respond right when we call it to action.
Look...God has given us the instruction manual for living life, and ... not only that, but living life to the fullest! In the analogy we are using in this series... He has given you a perfectly balanced, totally nutritious meal plan for seven days (not just 1) a week, so that in due time you will be a totally natural (NO foreign ***substances) "Spiritual Bodybuilder", growing daily by the Word of the Lord!
P.S. ***Foreign Substances ..... is anything extra biblical (anything that contradicts God's Word)! IOW... Anything outside of God's Word. Use God's Word to validate and/or rule out ANY other supplements to your meal!
God's Word is our Manna! Feast on it constantly.... at regular intervals!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
