DAY 6: Provision

Time To Eat… Or Is It?

Exodus 16

At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread…


Do you know where your next meal is coming from? For most Americans, saying "no" means we're not sure whether the plan is to eat "in" or "out." Is your next meal coming from the refrigerator, a drive through window, the sit-down restaurant menu, or the pizza delivery person?

The Israelites journeyed through the wilderness, hungry and worrying about where their next meal was coming from. God provided for them, supplying them with meat and manna (a thin bread-like wafer). Their challenge was to trust God's promise to provide them with enough food each day. Each evening God sent them quails for meat, and each morning they awoke to find the ground covered with bread from God--manna--ready for them to gather.

Do you know where your next meal is coming from? No matter what form it takes when it finally gets to you, ultimately, your next meal comes from God. When we trust God's promise to provide for us, our challenge is to figure out how God wants to use us to provide the next meal for someone else--someone who is hungry, poor, and really worried about how and when they will have their next meal.


In what ways is God calling me to help provide food for the hungry?


Prayer:
Loving God, as you give me the food I need today, help me see how I can help you provide food for others who are in need. Amen


Action step:
Figure out how much you spent on meals, beverages, and snacks in the past week. Fast for a day (or do a "modified fast" in which you eat more simply and inexpensively than usual). Donate the money you didn't spend on meals and snacks to your local food bank or to the ELCA Youth Challenge² for hunger.

contributed by Pastor Julie Kanarr