It’s been said, “Faith comes by hearing, not by having heard.” In other words, it’s not what you remember or think you know that will increase faith in your life– it’s the fresh word from Heaven (no matter how many times you’ve “heard” it before).
I was recently reminded of this in my ladies Bible Study when a wise, young woman shared that she had fallen into the trap of thinking she knew the scriptures so therefore it wasn’t necessary to read her Bible every day. But she soon realized that wasn’t true.
I believe this is a trap all believers can fall into, but there’s an Old Testament visual to help us see the dangers of believing what we’ve stored up before will be enough to sustain us– “…lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11).
It’s the story of the manna in the wilderness.
In the Book of Exodus, Moses had obeyed God and led the people out of Egypt on a journey to the promise land. But after a short while, the people complained about the scarcity of food, so God miraculously provided quail (meat) at night and manna (bread) in the morning. The Bible says the children of Israel ate manna for 40 years (Exodus 16:35).
But here’s what’s interesting about this story and how it helps us: there were two instructions for the children of Israel concerning their bread.
- Only gather what you need for the day— no more. [Except for the sixth day in which God allowed them to gather two days worth so they could rest on the seventh day.] (Exodus 16:16-18)
- If you gather more than you need, it will be full of worms and stink. (Exodus 16:20)
Isn’t this interesting? God realized if He let them store up bread for days or weeks, they wouldn’t remember they needed Him. And isn’t human nature still like this today? We go to church on Sunday, hear a great sermon, talk about it at lunch, and then think it’s enough to sustain us for a week, only to roll into church the following Sunday like we’ve come through a fire storm (if we even make it to church after a difficult week).
The problem is: Like the children of Israel, we can’t live on one gathering of “food” per week. This is why Jesus called it our DAILY BREAD in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).
I can vouch for this truth. I’m an avid studier of God’s Word but no matter how much I know, or how many sermons I’ve preached or blogs I’ve written, I’m only as strong as the amount of time I’ve put in to meditate on God’s Word that day.
When God gave Moses the instruction for His people, He said, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you…” (Exodus 16:4). I read that verse and immediately remembered Isaiah 55:10-11, which says, “For as rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, SO SHALL MY WORD BE, that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
But you know what? I didn’t remember it until I first read Exodus. In other words, God brought back what I had previously “eaten” and stored in my heart after I took another bite of His Word. And for me, this is one reason I love to spend time in God’s Word: He ties things together when I’m diligent to take in my daily bread.
So I hope you aren’t trying to live on deteriorating leftovers. God has provided a much better meal for you!
