In my husband’s childhood home, there was always a pot of food on the stove. Staple Haitian rice and beans, meats and sauces, no matter the time of day. Such is life when your mother communicates love through the language of food AND just happens to be a trained chef.

It probably goes without saying that he had to adjust his standards a bit when he said ‘I do’ to a cereal and sandwich kind of girl who never bothered to learn to cook before getting hitched.

More than a decade in, I’ve learned to appreciate, if not love, preparing cuisine for my family. But despite my best attempts at meal planning, 5 p.m. often finds me staring down 4 partially frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts , wondering what in the world we are going to eat for dinner?

The Israelites were grappling with their own food dilemma during their first days in the wilderness. With rose-colored glasses, they hearkened back to the days in Egypt when the pots of meat overflowed and they had as much bread as they could stomach (Exodus 16:3). Never mind their suffering at the hand of brutal Egyptian taskmasters who had subjected them to a life of enslavement (Exodus 3:7-8). It would have been better to have died in Egypt as slaves with plenty to eat, then starve to death in our freedom, the people of Israel reasoned. Their bellies now grumbling, it was hard for their lips not to follow.

The Lord, of course, had no intention of allowing His people to starve. He promised to serve up bread every morning and meat every evening to feed the hungry bunch. Every person would receive a day’s portion of food, as much as they needed, but not a single bite more.

No leftovers. No plates on the stovetop. No food stashed away ‘just in case.’ They would have to wake up each morning trusting the Lord to provide what was needed for that day. The only exception was Saturday, when two days worth of manna could be gathered to allow for a restful Sunday.

This is how the Lord’s people survived in the wilderness for the next 40 years. He never slept past his alarm and forgot to serve them breakfast or got busy with other things and left them scrambling for dinner. He provided food every single day for 14,600 days.

The Lord’s objective was clear:

“At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” –Exodus 16:12

Then you shall know…

Practical provision, day in and day out would be the proof of His unwavering commitment to His people and a reminder for the generations that followed.

Beautiful a story as it is, this posture of complete dependence must have been initially uncomfortable. I am a card-carrying member of Costco. I like bulk. I prefer abundance. And I’d be lost without leftovers.

But this spiritual principle of daily dependence isn’t just an Old Testament thing. A few hundred years later, when Jesus famously instructed his disciples in the basics of prayer, he taught them to ask for daily bread (Luke 11:3).

Doesn’t Jesus know that there are more efficient ways of going about this? There’s a reason most people grocery shop for the entire week. I would rather not go to the store every day, or wait until every last food item is consumed prior to restocking.

But I’ve lived seasons where I tried to make one day’s worth of filling last an entire week - going to church on Sundays but starving myself spiritually every other day. It didn’t work.

Even though the Lord has allowed me to have a refrigerator and a pantry, and the ability to buy groceries to fill them, He must be my daily bread. As much as I’d like to, I can’t stockpile grace. I can’t hoard mercy. And I certainly can’t gather up enough wisdom to make good, Godward decisions for the next few weeks.

“THE GOD WHO PROMISES TO SUPPLY ALL OF MY NEEDS OUT OF HIS VAST AND LIMITLESS RICHES, CHOOSES TO DO SO ONE PORTION, ONE MEAL, ONE DAY AT A TIME. ”

His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23), His joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). The God who promises to supply all of my needs out of His vast and limitless riches, chooses to do so one portion, one meal, one day at a time.

Like the Israelites in the wilderness, my prayer and yours must always be “Lord, meet my needs for this day. Don’t let me settle for stale bread when you’ve set a fresh loaf in front of me and invited me to eat my fill. Help me to eat and know that you alone are the Lord my God.”

No More Leftovers...