Sweet Daily Grace

“They said to each other, ‘What is it?’” Exodus 6:14

Sometimes I feel a lot like God, but it’s not when I’m actually doing right or being good.  It’s when my kids come to dinner, take one look at the dish before them, and ask, “What is it??”

The Israelites’ voiced the same question the morning after their grumbling as they stood outside and stared.  Covering the ground was something small, white, and sweet.  “They said to each other, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was”(Ex 16:14-15).

The nickname stuck (“manna” actually means “What is it?”), and for the next forty years so did the frosted flakes.  (I didn’t make that up.  Exodus 16:14 says manna was “thin flakes like frost.”  My husband is certain it tasted like Krispy Kreme donuts; I lean toward graham crackers!)

The divine instructions for the delicacy were simple—pick up what you need for today and trust God to provide for tomorrow.  Bake it, boil it, but don’t hoard it.  (Those who did so woke up to a maggot-infested mess!)   The people had to get out and get it early because manna melted away in the heat of the sun, but each day for four decades breakfast was always waiting when they awoke.

“What is it?” they asked the first time they saw it, and the answer never changed.  It was grace—sweet daily grace.  Bread from heaven showered on earth to strengthen and nourish God’s people in need.

Manna still falls every morning—grace for the day waiting in words from the Word, the words of a friend, the lyrics of a song, the warm of the sun, or simply a smile from someone we love.  It is bread from heaven sent by the true Bread of Heaven to strengthen and nourish as we need.  

God’s mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness lasts forever.  He supplies for today and desires that we trust Him to provide for tomorrow.  Embrace, enjoy, but don’t hoard.  Pass on the grace you’ve been given, and help others see more of God’s glory.

Sweet daily grace is more certain than the sun.  Without it, we couldn’t survive.  With it, we are able to thrive.  We don’t have to ask—we know what it is.  Give thanks and take it in.  Every single day.