In this part of the Exodus story, God deliberately sends His people, the people He loves, into the wilderness.

He does this because He wants to prepare them for the Promised Land. God wants intimacy, not just a functional relationship.

How did Israel respond to these tests?

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.'

-Exodus 16:1-3

The Lord said to Moses, 'I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, "At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God."' 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. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. And Moses said to them, 'Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.' But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 'Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.' On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, 'How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.'

-Exodus 16:11-14, 19-20, 26-29

The wilderness is the place where you lose control, clarity and consequence, that you may learn to trust God's provision.

When we enter the wilderness, our first question is often:

That is the wrong question.

The more appropriate questions are:

1. Recognize your fears

The Bible tells us we were made for feasting not fear.

We are supposed to be as carefree as children playing without someone taking care of them.

The Christian Life is not a pep rally or emotional frenzy disconnected from reality. It is a reality check!

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

-Romans 8:31-32

Whatever the reason, it can’t be because He does not love us.

Three characteristics of people who live in fear.

1. They are delusional

When you are afraid, you romanticize the past.

If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.

-Exodus 16:2-3

2. They are accusatory

'Who are we, that you should grumble against us?' Moses also said, 'You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD.'

-Exodus 16:6-8

3. They grab onto control

Then Moses said to them, 'No one is to keep any of it until morning.' However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

-Exodus 16:19-20

Why would you do this? Only one reason. You don’t trust God’s provision.

What then can God do in our interests but make 'our own life' less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible source of false happiness?

-C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

If we ever hope to trust God’s provision, we have to be willing to admit the places we don’t trust him.

1. Recognize your fears

2. Return to the Feast

In the midst of the wilderness with all the craziness going on around you, return to God and be filled.

Feast on God and you will be truly fed!

How to Feast on God.

1. Seek His character through the word

Show me who you are. I want to see you. Give me the feast. Show me your glory.

True believers lean into God when they are in the wilderness. They know it is the only way to survive!

2. Name the provisions in your life

Begin each day with gratitude. Count your blessings.

3. Extend generosity to others

When you meet someone less fortunate, and you are generous to them, you will be filled.

When you return to the feast, two things happen.

1. You discover who God really is

You have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.

-Exodus 16:2B

While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.

-Exodus 16:10

When they stopped looking behind and began looking into the wilderness, they began to realize that God was not going to judge them but was going to feed them.

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.

-Exodus 16:18

2. You discover who you really are

Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.'

-Exodus 16:4

Some people want God’s provision but not God’s precepts. They want the bread but not the commitment.

God spent 40 years preparing His people for the Promised Land.

The times when you have no control or clarity are the most strategic moments of your life. Those are the times you realize your fears are shaping you.

Lean into God. See the futility of your idols. Trust in His provision. Feast on Him.

1. Recognize your fears

2. Feast on God and you will be filled

After 20 years in the academic world, as a teacher of Pastoral Psychology, Pastoral theology, Christian spirituality I began to experience a deep inner threat. As I entered into my fifties, I was able to realize the unlikelihood of doubling my years. I came face to face with a simple question, "Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus?" After twenty-five years of priesthood I found myself praying poorly, living isolated from other people and very much pre-occupied with burning issues. Everyone was saying that I was doing really well, but something inside me was telling me that my success was putting my soul in danger. I began to ask myself if my lack of contemplative prayer, my loneliness, my constantly changing involvement in what seemed most urgent were actually signs that the Spirit was gradually being suppressed. It was very hard for me to see clearly. Though I never really spoke about Hell, or only jokingly so, I woke up one day with the realization that I was in it. Living in a very dark place where the term burnout was actually a very convenient psychological translation for what was truly spiritual death. In the midst of this I kept praying, 'Lord, show me where you want me to go, and I will follow you. But please be clear and unambiguous about it.' Well, God was clear, in the person of Jean Vanir, the founder of L'Arche Communities for Mentally Handicapped people. God said, 'Go, and live among the poor in spirit, and they will heal you.' The call was so clear and distinct that I had no choice but to follow so I moved from Harvard to L'Arche. From the best and the brightest wanting to rule the world to men and women who had few or no words and were considered at best marginal to the needs of our society. It was a very hard and painful move, and I am still in the process of making it. After twenty years of being free to go where I wanted, discuss what I chose, the small hidden life with people whose broken minds and bodies demand a strict daily routine in which words are the least requirement does not immediately appear to be a solution for spiritual burnout. And yet, my new life at L'Arche is offering me new words to use as I speak about what it means to be Christian.

-Henri Nouwen

The result will be:

God is Jehovah Jireh - my provider!!!