Wilderness Provision and Margin Decisions
If I were to ask you the question, "What is God teaching your right now?" What would you say? This question became the foundation of our discipleship group's journaling journey. I talk more about the power of discipleship here.
So every day in our discipleship group we have passages of Scripture that we read together. Things come to light and we do what we call a HEAR (highlight, explain, apply, respond) journal. It helps us to record the things that we are learning, so that we ask each other, "what is God teaching you right now?" We have a veritable catalogue of things we can share. The HEAR journal is not original with me. We're super thankful for the influence of Robby Gallaty and the ministry of Replicate for teaching us this. I've posted today's HEAR journal and will probably do some of them just so that I can have them catalogued in one place. Who knows, maybe it can help someone.
Highlight: Exodus 16:29
"Understand that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day He will give you two days' worth of bread. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave His place on the seventh day."
Explain:
The whole passage and reading for today is about God providing for them in the wilderness. He provides quail and manna in Exodus 16 and water from the rock in Exodus 17. The people complained to Moses that they didn't have as much food as they wanted. They were convinced they were going to die in the wilderness season of their lives. God had rescued them from bondage with mighty acts of power, He had delivered them from the Egyptian army at the Red Sea, and now somehow all of that would be destroyed by God starving them in the wilderness, or so they thought. It's so tragic to see the way in which they respond to God's past blessings by doubting His future blessings. Their complaining leads Moses to exasperation and He cries out to God. God brings them quail to eat at night and then gives them breakfast the next morning in the form of manna. What's interesting to me is that they are greedy, they immediately start storing it up because they doubt God's future provision for them. And God makes it spoil so that they learn to trust Him by having to gather it every single day for 40 years to drive into their brain that God can provide for them every single day.
It's also interesting to me that he tells them to gather extra on the Sabbath day. God wants them to learn the value of margin in their lives. He wants them to stop and take a day to remember Him and what He has done for them, to not get so busy and consumed with life that they have no time for reflection, no time to worship, no time to praise, no time to remember what God has done for them. But in the midst of their remembering God was still providing for them by providing more the next day.
Apply:
I can get so critical of the children of Israel but if I'm honest, I'm just like them. I complain about God not providing for me in the wilderness seasons of my life. God has delivered me, promised to be with me, promised to go before me. I've seen Him be faithful to me time and time again. I've watched Him provide more times than I can count, and yet still, like the Israelites, I'm convinced I'm going to starve in the wilderness. In the midst of my frustration, the Spirit has reminded me today, how does your starvation serve my purposes for your life and my glory? The answer is, it doesn't; the answer is He won't let me starve, He's trying to get me to trust Him. To trust Him what I have, and what I don't. Either way He is good, He is faithful, and I can trust Him.
It's also for me to remember that God wants margin in my life and He will provide for me in the midst of that margin. I need to be better at taking time to remember God's faithfulness, slowing down enough to praise Him, to reflect on who He is. I don't want to get so busy for Him, that I miss my time with Him. He will provide for me in the time of margin as well. I can trust Him there.
Respond:
God help me to slow down and find margin. Help me to remember your faithfulness. The two ideas are connected. Margin and Remembering. Maybe I wouldn't be so worried and complaining if I would find margin and remember. Help me to trust you to be faithful in my life. Help me to see You for who You are in the wilderness. As you prove Yourself over and over and over, help me find joy in the wilderness. Help me to know You in ways only the wilderness can teach me. And teach me to trust You in new and deeper ways.
