Scripture:

“The people of Israel continued to camp at the Gilgal. They celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the plains of Jericho. Right away, the day after the Passover, they started eating the produce of that country, unraised bread and roasted grain. And then no more manna; the manna stopped. As soon as they started eating food grown in the land, there was no more manna for the People of Israel. That year they ate from the crops of Canaan.” Joshua 5:10-12 (MSG)

Perspective:
 

Joshua and the Israelites had just crossed the Jordan on their way to the Promised Land. God miraculously split the Jordan River as He had done to the Red Sea for Moses. While the people wandered in the desert for 40 years for their disobedience and disbelief, God provided manna for them – food that sustained them during that season. Once their location changed, their supply changed. The manna represented where they had been, not where they were going. They would experience even greater provision, but the type of food changed. There was no more manna, not because God didn’t care; He simply chose to meet their need in a different way. The people were moving on from a temporary place of wandering in the desert to a permanent home where they could plant roots and build a life. It would require new levels of trust. The Israelites were no longer to survive but rather thrive in this new season. There would be different battles and miracles on the other side of the Jordan River. Even though the manna was gone, the miraculous God was still present, and he would give the people new grounds for believing when they soon faced Jericho.

 

New seasons require new levels of trust. We can get comfortable with how God is leading us in one season only to discover He wants our faith to be in Him and not what He can do. What if the people had sat around and wailed about the manna being gone even though there was food right in front of them? We would want to step back in time and tell them to open their eyes. You may need to preach that sermon to yourself instead. Open your eyes to the ways God is working all around you. Isaiah 43:19 (NLT) says, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” As you move into this New Year, you may not be able to rely on the same miracles of yesterday. However, you can still trust in the God who miraculously provides. Don’t miss what God is doing if it looks different than you expected. He is the God who parts the Red Sea, the Jordan River, brings manna from heaven, crumbles the wall of Jericho, and nothing is too difficult for Him. He knows what you need today and tomorrow. Trust Him to bless you in a way that only He can.

 

Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002.  Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

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About Hona Amer

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