One Day at a Time
Based on Exodus 16
During this season of Lent, we’ve been studying the stories of Exodus in a series called Let My People Go. The parallels between God rescuing His people from the bondage of slavery and God rescuing His people from the bondage of sin are plain to see. But as the story progresses, we see just how short Israel’s memory can be. When things didn’t go like they thought they should have, Israel complains and rebels. They’ve been shown time after time that they can trust God’s plan and provision…and yet they don’t. God patiently teaches them to trust Him one day at a time by giving them one day’s worth of food (or two in preparation for the Sabbath) – no more, no less. Manna falls from heaven; quails practically fall in their lap – but just enough for the day. Each day they must renew their commitment to trust God to provide exactly what they need for the day and to trust that it will happen the next day and the next day and the next.
Applying this to my own life (I’d like to think I’m smarter than the Israelites, but really, I’m not) I find I need reminding, on a daily basis, that God will provide what I need for the day. 2024 has not had a smooth beginning for us. In January, we had to tear up the concrete in our basement floor to be able to replace a pipe that had collapsed – making our house unlivable for about a week. But God provided for us day by day with things like a place to stay on day one, a company that could start work immediately on day two, extra work for my husband to help pay for this costly repair as time goes on, etc. One day at a time, by God’s grace, we made it through. Recently, my father had a serious health event. The details of caring for him as well as my mother seemed overwhelming. (still do!) But by God’s grace we were (and are) able to take it one day at a time and accomplish what needs to be done for the day. God’s grace has been sufficient to see us through each day and will be sufficient to get us through tomorrow. I can count on it!
Life is rarely going to go exactly as we plan, but day by day, sometimes minute by minute, let’s fully embrace God’s plan for our life – His provision for the day. Let it bring the grace and peace only God can give.
p.s. I wasn’t too motivated to write this blog with so much going on in our lives right now, but at just the right moment, we had a lengthy power outage, and with nothing else to do, I was given a nudge to get this done. Good one, God!
Dawn Lubker, Ministry Assistant
