Thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. ~ Exodus 16:14b, 15
READING: Exodus 16:1-15
To date, my husband and I have been in ministry for over thirty years. Church planting frequently takes planters to the razor edge of financial uncertainty. Often we didn’t know at the beginning of the month how we’d pay bills due by the end of that month.
At first this used to scare the wits out of me. However, as time passed, I began to realize that we were always held safely within two alternating types of time that I eventually dubbed “Regular Time” and “Manna Time.” During Regular Time God provides for His own through normal, predictable streams of income like jobs, regular paychecks, financial supporters, investments, inheritance or whatever. During these Regular Times, God’s provision comes to us indirectly, through the ordinary economic channels that everyone depends on – believers and unbelievers alike.
However, during Manna Time, those normal, predictable streams of income dry up, at least temporarily. Supporters don’t send what they promised, side jobs end or the bills far exceed our resources to pay them. During Manna Time God provides for us directly, using non-traditional methods like serendipities, so-called coincidences, the divinely compelled kindness of others and outright miracles.
Jim and I emphatically testify that God ALWAYS provided what we absolutely needed. It took me a long while to recognize when God had switched us into Manna Time, longer still to learn the precious lessons of manna – lessons I look forward to sharing here in the “Manna Time” entries sprinkled throughout the coming months.
Father, Increase my confidence that You will ALWAYS take care of us. Help me to begin to recognize manna when You send it. Amen.
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