Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (ESV)
2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know…
Though they did not appreciate it as they should have, God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, and He continues to provide for us today.
James 1:17 (ESV)
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
God may not give us everything we want, but He certainly provides for all our needs. The only thing He requires of us is to put Him first in our lives.
Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
The “all things” Jesus was referring to are the necessities of life—food, clothing, shelter, etc. We can, and should, have faith that God will provide us with all the things we need. More importantly, however, is the fact that God provides for us spiritually.
2 Peter 1:3 (ESV)
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
God has not given us “some things” we need for life and godliness; He has given us “all things.” There is nothing we need to live favorably before God now and go to heaven after a while that He has not provided for us. God is truly the Giver of great gifts, the best gift of all being His one and only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. While God provided the Israelites with manna from above, He has provided us with the bread of life.
John 6:31-35 (ESV)
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Jesus is the gift from God that keeps on giving. He has given us eternal life by paying the price for our transgressions (Isaiah 53;5; Romans 6:23), and now He helps us maintain our relationship with God by being our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1). Let us continue to remember God and His provisions every day, both the physical and the spiritual.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.