The reading for today is from Exodus 16:1-21. The people of Israel have been rescued from slavery in Egypt and Moses has led them into the wilderness. There is one problem. There’s no food. They are hungry, so they start to grumble.

“Why did you lead us out here into the desert? So we could starve to death?”

Have you ever felt like that? You step out in faith, thinking you are following God, and then things go from bad to worse. This is a real test of faith. Do you run back to the thing that enslaved you, where at least you knew you would have food? Or, do you stay in the desert and trust that God will provide?

Here’s what I find really interesting about the way God provides. God only gives us enough for the day. No more, no less. The “what-is-it-bread” (aka manna) appeared in the morning and they could eat as much as they wanted, but if they tried to save it over night, it turned to worms.

This just-enough-for-today mentality flies in the face of our middle-class American culture. We live with a freezer mentality. We like to stockpile food and money and resources so that we know we will always have them. We are always thinking about the future, which leaves little energy to live in the present.

Do you know what the problem is when you stockpile for the future? It’s frozen. God isn’t frozen. God is fresh food that is alive and dynamic…for today.

I wonder what would happen if we learned how to live in the moment and were fully present to what God is doing right now, and stopped worrying about the future. What would happen if we unplugged our spiritual refrigerators and ate abundantly at God’s fresh food section each day?