Daily Devotional

I don't know about you, but I love pizza. In fact, my family and I might be single-handedly keeping the industry in business. I kid of course but we do have pizza almost every Friday night to go along with our movie nights that we started as a tradition while my wife Alexis was going through her chemotherapy treatments.  Just a few weeks ago was national pepperoni pizza day and oddly enough on that day I was reminded of God's care for His people.
In today’s text, at this point in the Exodus story, God's people went from feeling like God protected and guided them, to feeling like God had completely forgotten and abandoned them to wander alone in a hot desert. They were upset with Moses and Aaron because what they needed to survive the wilderness was not being provided. They even longed for slavery back in Egypt because at least they had food to eat. The feeling of being hungry and hot would compound if you also felt like the reason, you were in the situation you were in was because God forgot about you or misled you.

As the story continues to unfold what we learn about is how God moved toward His people with compassion, hearing their frustrations and providing for them once again giving them a food called manna. And God's provision bolstered the faith of His people, encouraging them once again that they could trust Him to come through. I'm sure many folks have stories like these, but I know firsthand, that while it might not look how we expect or happen when we want, God always keeps His promises even when we doubt.

Now pizza didn't exist until long after the Exodus story took place, but manna was something readily available to God's people and a symbol of His care. Yet prior to His providing, the Israelites were probably thinking what many of us think in times of difficulty, “Does God even care about me?” “Is God going to come through for me?” “Has God forgotten about me?” The human element of the story should remind us that we’ve all been guilty of complaining to God while forgetting what He’s done for us. As God provided for His people daily in the morning, He reminded them of His faithfulness. And while you may never have manna in your life, maybe you can think of something else that checks off the box that reminds you of God's care for you. Maybe something as simple as pizza.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.