One Day At a Time

Have you ever found yourself in a season where you knew God had brought you through something, but you weren't yet where you believed He was taking you?

That's the wilderness. The wilderness is the space between deliverance and destiny. It is the place between God's promise and its fulfillment. It is the season where you've left Egypt, but you haven't yet reached Canaan. That's where we find ourselves in Exodus 16. The children of Israel are in that wilderness place. God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. He had parted the Red Sea. He had demonstrated His power in miraculous ways. Yet now they were standing in the wilderness wondering how they were going to make it another day.

The excitement of the Exodus had begun to wear off. The reality of the journey had set in. Questions began to surface. Concerns began to grow. Anxiety began to rise. It was almost as if the people of Israel were asking the same question every parent, grandparent, and traveler has heard on a long trip:

"Are we there yet?"

You know the moment. The luggage is packed, the destination is set, and everyone is excited when the journey begins. But after a few hours on the road, the excitement starts to fade. The scenery becomes repetitive. The trip feels longer than expected. And before long, the questions begin.

"How much farther?" "When are we going to get there?", "Are we there yet?"

That question is never really about the destination. It is usually about the frustration of the journey. The traveler knows where they're going; they're just tired of waiting to get there. That is exactly where Israel found itself in the wilderness. God had brought them out of Egypt, but they had not yet arrived in the Promised Land. They were living in the uncomfortable space between God's deliverance and God's promise.

I could argue many of us know exactly what that feels like. There are seasons when God has brought us through something, but we are still waiting on what comes next. Seasons when the journey takes longer than expected. Seasons when prayers seem delayed, answers seem distant, and the road ahead feels uncertain. In those moments, the cry of Israel becomes our cry:

"Lord, are we there yet?"

The Israelites were about to learn an important lesson about God's faithfulness. The Lord said to Moses: "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you..." (Exodus 16:4) God did not abandon His people in the wilderness. He did not leave them to figure things out on their own. Instead, He provided manna from heaven. But there was something unique about this provision.

God did not give them enough manna for months at a time. He gave them enough for each day. The people wanted certainty about tomorrow. God gave them daily bread. The people wanted to know how the entire journey would unfold. God gave them what they needed for the next step. The people wanted guarantees. God offered His faithfulness.

And maybe that is a lesson for us. Sometimes we want God to show us the entire map when He is simply asking us to trust Him for today's journey. We want answers for next month. God gives strength for today. We want solutions for the whole year. God gives grace for today. We want to know how everything is going to work out. God reminds us that He is already working.

That is one of the great lessons of the wilderness. God's provision is often daily, but His faithfulness is constant. He is always faithful, and if we're not careful, we can become so focused on what we don't yet have that we miss what God is already providing. We can become so consumed with tomorrow that we fail to recognize today's manna.

Exodus 16 reminds us that every day the children of Isarael were in the wilderness, God proved Himself faithful. Every morning there was manna. Every day there was enough. Every step of the journey was covered by God's provision. The same God who delivered Israel from Egypt sustained them in the wilderness. And the same God who has brought you through your past is able to sustain you in your present.

Maybe you're walking through a wilderness season right now. Perhaps you're waiting on an answer, waiting on direction, waiting on healing, waiting on a breakthrough, or waiting on God to fulfill a promise. Keep trusting that God will provide.

God's provision may come one day at a time, but His faithfulness never runs out. If He provided yesterday (and he did), He will provide today, and if He provides today (and he will), you can trust Him with tomorrow. Our confidence is not found in knowing every detail of the journey ahead; our confidence is found in the God who is traveling with us every step of the way.

As we continue our Beulah's Family Vacation journey this week, hold on to this truth: you do not need all the answers for the rest of the journey. You do not need to see the entire road ahead. You simply need enough faith to trust God for the next step. The God who has been faithful thus far will continue to be faithful, and His grace will meet you exactly where you are, one day at a time.

Your Pastor and His Servant
FLC