Our DAILY Bread

Last night, I had a dream about maggots.

Specifically, I dreamed that I accidentally ate a piece of old bread or a pastry or something (my dreams don't get that specific), and when I put it into my mouth, I realized it was full of maggots. I'll spare you the details of the rest of the dream, but believe me, it was super gross.

According to www.dreamdictionary.org, I think about death too much. Or, someone or something in my life is eating away at me. Or, maybe I just saw the breaking news that snorting Smarties candies can cause nasal maggots (hint: DO NOT Google image that). While those are some excellent explanations, I think I know where the preoccupation with maggots originated.

Have you ever had an experience where God is trying to teach you something, and EVERYWHERE you look, you keep hearing the same message? To the point where it goes from strange coincidence to creepy to outright ridiculously hilarious? And finally you find yourself saying, "OKAY. I got it, God. I hear You LOUD and CLEAR."

Enter maggots.

It all started over Christmas break when I stumbled upon an article by John Piper called "Today's Mercies for Today's Troubles". It's an older article, but the truths are absolutely timeless. I've probably read it at least 4 times since then, and I think it would be in my best interest to review it at least once a week. You can read the article here.

In summary:
1. "God gives each day his wise and loving measure of pain and pleasure."
2. "There is fresh mercy from God for each day's appointed pain."
3. "Our task today is not to have the strength needed for tomorrow's burdens. Our task today is to live by the mercies given for today, and to believe that there will be new mercies for tomorrow. Today's mercies do not include strength for tomorrow; they include faith that tomorrow's unseen mercies will be sufficient for tomorrow."

I recently saw a movie called "August: Osage County", starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, among others. Although the storyline wasn't a very happy one, the acting was absolutely incredible. In a moment of particular agony, Julia Robert's character says: "Thank God we can’t tell the future, we’d never get out of bed." Why is this true? Because we could never bear a lifetime of troubles on the mercies that are only meant for today. Look at the two primary Scriptures found in the John Piper article...

Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

We were never meant to bear the burden of an entire lifetime in a single moment. Every morning, God's mercies fall fresh and anew. They fall fresh on us, and together, we meet the day's portion of joy and sorrow. We must live day-to-day, and that requires faith that the Lord's compassions really will never fail to fall on us.

As the article mentions, we as humans do not like this. We like to fall asleep in peace, feeling fully equipped and ready for all that the next day could bring. But the Lord has required us to live in day-to-day, constant dependence on Him. Lest we forget that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15: 5).

Back to the maggots. At the beginning of this semester, with all these new thoughts in my head, my boss casually mentioned the story found in Exodus 16 where God feeds the people of Israel with manna and quail. I had some memory of the story, but I was about to see it in a whole new light. If you haven't read it or just want to refresh your memory, you can read it here.

In summary, the Israelites were wandering around in the wilderness, complaining that they were going to starve to death. They were so panicked that they said they wished they had died as slaves in Egypt (this is after God had performed many miracles, such as the parting of the Red Sea and the provision of drinking water). So, God provided for their needs by sending manna in the morning and quail at night. God's instructions were for the people to gather only enough manna each morning for one day. On the sixth day, they were to gather enough for two days so that they could still rest on the Sabbath.

Sure enough, some of the people tried to gather manna for more than one day. They were hoarding because they were afraid that God would not be faithful to send manna the next morning. When the manna was kept overnight, it began to smell and was filled with maggots- sometimes God gets creative! However, when manna from the sixth day was kept overnight, it did not spoil and was good for feeding God's people on the Sabbath. God provided, but the people were not allowed to hoard the manna out of hearts of unbelief.

After reading this story and incorporating the ways God has been speaking this same message to me (through conversations with my roommate and parents, and through LOTS of repetition of the message in church, etc.), I began to see how often I insist on feeding on manna that has been rotted out with maggots. I live in the future. I worry about things like: How will I do in my classes? Will I get a job after graduation? Will I fall in love and get married? Have kids? Live to see them have kids of their own? Leave a legacy of faith? And on and on and on...trying to live the rest of my life on only today's mercies all the while hoarding the manna God gives today in hopes that it will be enough to get me through.

But He gives DAILY bread. He gives new mercies EVERY MORNING. We walk by faith, not by sight. And we are called to walk with God day-by-day and moment-by-moment. If you're living with anxiety (I know how you feel), consider if you might be holding onto yesterday's manna. It will rot at the end of the day. You cannot hoard and outsmart God's system. But the good news is that His mercies unfailingly fall afresh each morning to give us everything we need for today.

So that is the story of the maggots. Hopefully it sounds a bit less disturbing now. Oh, one more funny thing. Every morning, I like to sneak a look at the next day's devotional. This morning, I turned the page to tomorrow's lesson, and what was waiting for me? A devotional on Exodus 16.

OK, God. I GET IT! Praise God, I think I'm getting it.