Learning to Trust

"Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them." Exodus 16:19-20 (NLT)

I'm always amazed when reading the story of the Israelites being rescued from slavery in Egypt. God showed up in the most incredible ways for His people! Exodus chapter 15 begins with a song of praise to God for the deliverance He provided, but by the end of the chapter, the Israelites were already complaining. Can you believe it? 

I think we are all like those Israelites to some degree. We witness God do incredible things for us and those around us, but then as soon as a problem arises or we become uncomfortable, we begin to doubt and complain, revealing our lack of trust in God.

After much complaining, God provided fresh water, quail, and manna, which was a flaky substance that blanketed the ground each morning (Exodus 15:22-Exodus 16:16). The Israelites were told to gather only the manna they needed for one day and not to keep any until morning. Some of them were afraid they would end up being hungry the next day, so they disobeyed and kept some, just in case they needed it. When they woke up, the manna they had saved was full of maggots and had an awful odor. I guess they learned really quickly that they would have to wait and see if God would provide each day. 

On the sixth day, however, they were told to gather twice as much as normal because the seventh day would be the Sabbath, a day of rest, and no manna would fall. Moses told them the manna would remain good but I'm guessing the Israelites who had seen the maggots with their own eyes were really worried they would go hungry the next day. I mean, they had just witnessed the manna spoil overnight, but now they were expected to believe it wouldn't spoil. Exodus 16:27 tells us that some people went out anyway on the seventh day but found no food. That makes me wonder if some refused to save any manna until morning because of what they had witnessed and therefore, they ended up with no food on the Sabbath. 

For everyone else, who woke up to find manna that had not spoiled, even though every other day of the week it would spoil, must have been blown away! This was proof that God would do what He said he would do, and He could be trusted. Of course, they would begin complaining again in chapter 17, but even so, this miracle should have proven God's trustworthiness.

God could have easily provided manna on the Sabbath, but He was modeling the importance of a day of rest and also, showing the people that He was in control and worthy of their trust. The same is true for us. I believe God allows situations in our lives that will help us understand how faithful and kind He is. How will we ever know we can trust God if we never need Him to show up for us? 

When life causes us to become fearful and wonder if God will come through for us, I pray we'll recall all the ways He has already proven His faithfulness to us, and we rest in His ability to take care of us. Who knows, maybe whatever we're facing will be the next situation that reveals how truly trustworthy God is!