The people emerged from their tents all across the camp and stretched themselves in the early morning sun. The kids ran around, and mothers were poking the fire to life as the men returned from their early morning walk. To collect manna, they had to go outside, away from the hustle and bustle of the camp. The manna that fell in the wilderness was fresh every morning. It never lasted overnight so every day they had to go out to collect it. We have all found that yesterday’s “bread” is never sufficient for today. Every day has its own troubles and God has daily bread that is sufficient for the day, but we do have to collect it!
Daily Bread is the spiritual food we get from abiding for a while with Jesus. Just being with Him strengthens our souls and fills us with life. If we eat His Word and are not strengthened, it is just information. We are to eat until we are satisfied. “Now Boaz said to her (Ruth) at mealtime, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar. So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied” (Ruth 2:14). Ruth was satisfied. Many people don’t stay and eat long enough to receive what they need. Unfortunately, when we are not satisfied by His bread, we look for satisfaction in other things. Whenever we get weak, we have not collected enough manna. When we are tempted by things we are not usually tempted by, or when we get angry and lose our temper, we’re running on empty.
Friend, our problem is not the size of our enemies or the length of our journey, but the smallness of our time at the table. But it is still not too late today to get out of your “tent” and go and collect some manna!