So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the
thing] whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).
For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
The Word of God--it is our manna in the wilderness. It is our daily
bread-the provision of God to meet our needs. And yet so often His Word sits on a shelf
untouched. Perhaps we do not realize just how vital the Word of God is to our life. It is
our life, but do we really believe that? Do we really understand just how important His
Word is to us?
As a parent, I am like so many others who try to do my best to provide for my family. In
truth, it is God who provides, I just try to take what He gives though my occupation and
pass it along to them. When I think of my family's health, I know it is important that we
have good food on the table and that growing kids get plenty of the right things to eat.
With that, I would not think of ignoring their needs and letting them go hungry. But as
important as their physical needs are, how do their spiritual needs compare? Do I give as
much attention to ensuring they are getting plenty of spiritual food they need to grow in
Christ?
As we eat food, it is not the process of eating that keeps us alive, but the unseen
processes within us as the nutrients are broken down and distributed throughout the body.
As we take in the spiritual food-the Word of God-it is the unseen processes that feed us,
strengthen us, and transform us into the likeness of Jesus. But just like with physical
food, we cannot grow and be healthy if we do not eat. We need God's manna.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness and ate the manna from heaven, they grew tired
of it day after day. Perhaps they had already prepared it every way they could
imagine-manna-k-bobs, manna potpie, manna flambé... And in time, they got fed up with
manna. They grumbled and they groaned. But it was not their diets that needed changed, but
their attitudes. God had provided what they needed and they turned their noses up in
protest.
How ungrateful, right? And yet it begs the question: How often do we complain about what
God provides? Do we sometimes need an attitude adjustment when we think that reading God's
Word is too difficult or too dull? Or how often do we listen to a preacher and think
somehow that it is his fault that we get nothing from a sermon, or that it put us to
sleep, or is too dry, or…you get the picture.
God promises to provide, and He does. He provides through many ways but not all of them
are going to look just like what we think they should. I guess it is all in how you look
at things. Do we gratefully accept the provision of God's Word just as He gives it, and do
we understand how important it is to our lives? Or do we live a life where we expect
preachers to spoon-feed us, or God to make us happy and therewith forget our
responsibility to gather the manna He has sent? We spend a significant amount of time each
day preparing meals and feeding our physical bodies. Imagine how God could transform our
lives if we gave that kind of time and attention to feeding from His Word every day. We
would be amazed just how much of a difference it would make. | 
Our Daily Manna