In the desert, He provides and heals.

I was reading in Exodus about the Israelites. They had just come out of hard times in Egypt (plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, livestock dying, flies, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death of firstborns) and Pharaoh had just let them out of bondage. But I noticed the Lord said, I don’t want you to lead them the shortest way, Moses and Aaron. I want you to lead them to the Promised Land through the wilderness/desert. Even parting a sea so they could walk on dry land and see another miracle happen for them, protecting them from Pharaoh’s army as they were drowned when the sea was released back crushing the army as they drowned.

The Lord leads them on, through a place called Marah…where they couldn’t get clean fresh water; it was bitter. Moses cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord provided their needs for water, telling Moses to follow these conditions, to test their faithfulness to me.

Exodus 15:26 – The Lord said, If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and laws, then I will not make you suffer the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.

I’ll pause here and state, I’m not writing any of this with the intent to relate our current pandemic and coronavirus/COVID-19 as a disease the Lord sent and He wants us to suffer. That’s not my intent of this blog. My point is while we are in a “desert” – some of us, in isolation, quarantine, social distancing, need to see the lesson in the next story in Exodus 16.

It starts in Exodus 16, a month after leaving Egypt, it states, they were grumbling again and complaining to Moses and Aaron and even said, if we could go back to Egypt. At least, we were fed there. Here in the desert we are starving. Seriously? Grumbling and complaining and asking to go back to the season of plagues and bondage? I mean, I guess I would too, if I haven’t eaten in a while. I don’t know.

I was drawn to the verses where the Lord says to Moses and Aaron, I’m going to test them in this to see whether they will follow my instructions. He says the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for the day. Enough for their family. Not to have too much or too little. Later in verses 17 and 18 they gathered and each family had just what it needed. You can read the rest of the story to see God provided quail for their meat, and manna in the morning as their bread. He provided just enough.

I wanted to write this because that part spoke to me – only gather enough of what you need for today and/or for your family. To not waste, to not hoard, but MOST IMPORTANTLY trust the Lord for your daily bread and meat for you and your family.

Are we trusting him during this season? Are we getting just enough for us to not waste food and provisions? Are we sharing with our neighbors any of our “too much”? Are we giving to food banks who are providing for families right now?

I also think the Lord wants us to depend on him for our daily bread. To seek Him first every morning for our day’s sustenance. He’s removed so many of our morning busyness and routines, for those of us sheltering in place. We don’t hustle and bustle to get out the door; we don’t have to travel for work or take the kids to school. We are at home. So start your routine seeking him for the manna, while in the desert.

Will we carefully listen to his voice? Obey his commands and laws? He will heal our hearts, minds, souls, families. We all need healing for emotional, physical, mental, and relational pieces of our life.

So to read, learn and apply:

1. Remember what the Lord has brought you out of. Your hard seasons of life. How he rescued you before.
2. This current season in our world, He is leading us this direction for a reason. He is not taking you the easy route or the shortest way. He is testing our faithfulness.
3. Listen carefully to the voice of the Lord. Theres a large return on this intimacy.
4. Obey his commands. Follow His instructions. This verse command comes to mind from Matthew 22: 37 – 39: Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul and mind. and the second command is equally important;  love your neighbor as yourself.
5. What do you need healing from during this quarantine season/stay at home orders?Ask him for it.
6. Are you grumbling and complaining? Stop. See how he has provided for you and your every need.
7. Are you starting your day with him – seeking his manna as your daily bread? Now is the time to get your routine in place.
8. Regarding your food and supplies, are you getting just enough for you and your family, or are you hoarding and/or wasting out of fear of the unknown? Trust God. Get just enough for you and your family. Share with your neighbors or your local food bank.
9. Share your miracle stories with others. People need encouragement and to see the Lord at work. Be intentional to connect with people to share these victories.
10. Check in on your friends and family and actively listen (we all need to learn how to do this). Maybe they are in a desert and need someone to listen. Let’s listen to them, not lecture or tell them what they should do.  Remind them the Lord sees, hears and provides for them.