Bread from Heaven: Trusting God One Day at a Time (Exodus 16:1–36)
Have you ever felt like you’re in a place where you’re not sure how your needs will be met? Maybe you’re wondering how you’ll get through the day, the week, or the month. That’s exactly how the Israelites felt in the wilderness — and that’s where God taught them how to trust Him one day at a time.
Hungry and Frustrated
The Israelites had just left Egypt. God had done amazing miracles to free them, but now they were traveling through a hot, dry desert — and they were hungry. Instead of trusting God, they started to complain. They even said they wished they had died in Egypt where at least they had food.
It’s easy to judge them, but we all do this sometimes. When life gets tough, we forget what God has done in the past and focus only on what we lack right now.
God Promises to Provide
Even though the people complained, God didn’t get angry. Instead, He made a promise: He would provide food every day. In the evening, quail (a type of bird) would cover the camp. In the morning, thin flakes (called manna) would appear on the ground. The people were to gather just enough for each day. God was teaching them to rely on Him — not to hoard or worry, but to trust that He would take care of them daily.
Daily Bread, Daily Trust
Every morning, the people gathered manna. It tasted sweet, like wafers with honey. But if anyone tried to save some for the next day, it spoiled and stank. That was God’s way of saying, “I’ll give you what you need for today. Don’t worry about tomorrow.”
Then came the sixth day of the week. God told them to gather double the amount because there would be no manna on the seventh day — the Sabbath, a day of rest. This time, the extra manna didn’t spoil. It was God’s special way of helping them rest while still being provided for.
A Jar to Remember
God also told Moses to keep a jar of manna as a reminder. This jar would help future generations remember how God fed His people in the desert. It was a way to say: “Even in hard places, God takes care of us.”
What This Means for Us
This story reminds us that:
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God provides for our daily needs — maybe not always what we want, but always what we need.
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Trust is built one day at a time. God doesn’t usually give us everything at once, but He gives us enough for today.
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Rest is important. God built a rhythm of work and rest into the week, and He helps us slow down.
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Remembering helps us stay strong. Just like the jar of manna, we need reminders of how God has helped us before.
Final Thoughts
Life can feel like a desert sometimes — dry, tiring, and uncertain. But even there, God is with us. He hears our cries. He sees our needs. And just like He gave manna in the wilderness, He still gives us what we need each day.
So if you’re feeling anxious or unsure today, take a deep breath and remember: God is faithful. One day at a time, He’s got you.
Exodus 16:1-36 (WEB)
16:1 They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; 3 and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”6 Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, you shall know that the LORD has brought you out from the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning, you shall see the LORD’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against the LORD. Who are we, that you murmur against us?” 8 Moses said, “Now the LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.” 9 Moses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come close to the LORD, for he has heard your murmurings.’ ” 10 As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the LORD’s glory appeared in the cloud. 11 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’ ”13 In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp. 14 When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground. 15 When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent.’ ” 17 The children of Israel did so, and some gathered more, some less. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They each gathered according to his eating. 19 Moses said to them, “Let no one leave of it until the morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they didn’t listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, so it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. 21 They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is that which the LORD has spoken, ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.’ ” 24 They laid it up until the morning, as Moses ordered, and it didn’t become foul, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none.” 27 On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. 28 The LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 Behold, because the LORD has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.31 The house of Israel called its name “Manna”, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, ‘Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.