The View from My Window

Enough Just for Today

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

This morning, God spoke to me through the devotional entitled, “What You Do with Today Matters” from one of my favorite devotional books, Commanding Your Morning by Cindy Trimm. Cindy’s prayer contained the following sentence that caught my attention: “I break free from the cares of yesterday and will not take on any worries about tomorrow, for You have given me grace that is sufficient for each day in and of itself.”

Immediately after reading this, God put the word manna in my thoughts. Remember in Exodus when God supplied the Israelites with manna every day? After crossing the Red Sea and walking into the wilderness, the Israelites began to murmur against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry and regretting their escape from Egypt. At least there, they were fed until they were full. But God supplied them with “bread from heaven” or manna, as it was called. He gave specific instructions on when to gather, how much to gather each day, and to be obedient to these instructions.

Here are a few highlights:

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning, there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’” The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

The devotional prayer focused on grace that is sufficient for each day in and of itself. God gave instructions to the Israelites to “gather as much (manna) as they need … for each person you have in your tent.” They followed these instructions except for gathering twice as much the day before the Sabbath to rest and observe their holy day. It was just enough to meet their needs, no more and no less.

“May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” God’s unfailing love will help us handle what is happening every single day—not the trials of yesterday or the anticipated worries of tomorrow. Just for today! Just as He supplied for the needs of His people in the wilderness long ago, He continues to provide for us now because of His unfailing love and hope for us.

He will provide just enough for today! Thank you, gracious Father!

Excerpted from "That Brilliant Tree":

When I saw this beautiful orange maple tree, God told me that this most brilliantly colored tree is comprised of the body of Christ. The entire tree itself is Christ—the most brilliantly colored, perfect tree anywhere. Anyone who would gaze on it would be in awe because of its brilliant orange and yellow colors, its shape, and its size. Only God can create like this!

Then God told me that I would not find one perfect leaf. It takes every leaf on that tree to go through the process of changing from green to yellow to orange to create that brilliant color. It takes the entire group to create the overall brilliant effect. Every leaf works together at its own pace to reach the colors of fall. Not all leaves change their colors at the same time. It depends on factors such as the amount of sunlight they receive as well as water and other nutrients.

In the body of Christ, each of us has a unique role in fulfilling the will of God in our lives. This is the will that He created just for us, and if we are not demonstrating our skills and abilities that God gave us, then we are not fulfilling that will of God for our lives. We are not creating the “brilliant” demonstration of God’s love in our lives.

There is something else about leaves that is interesting: “Leaves are very special because it’s in the leaves that the tree works it’s magic by making its own food. There are veins in each leaf, and they take in water from the tubes in the tree trunk’s sapwood and carry food made by the leaves to the rest of the tree. Trees cannot move from place to place, but they can very slowly turn their leaves to face the sun.” Sunlight is the highest source of energy for a tree. So, for the leaves to make food for the tree, they must do everything they can to gain the most sunshine in that process.

In the spirit, the body of Christ must focus on the son-shine to grow in Him. Each of us must be fed by God’s Word. Just as the veins in each leaf take in water from the tree to carry food throughout the tree, we must stay in God’s Word to feed our spirits and the spirits of others. If each of us is doing this, the body of Christ is being fed. If the body of Christ is being fed, we will be able to demonstrate to others the brilliant light of God’s love within each of us—individually and as the body of Christ.