What Is It? Finding God in the Wilderness

“When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, ‘What is it?’ For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.’” — Exodus 16:15 (WEB)

There are seasons when the life you knew ends before the life ahead of you has begun.

You are no longer where you were.

You have not yet arrived where you hoped to be.

And somewhere in between, you find yourself asking:

What happens to me now?

Maybe the job you depended on is gone.

Maybe the numbers no longer add up.

Maybe someone you love is no longer beside you.

Maybe your health has changed, your plans have unraveled, or the future you thought you could count on suddenly feels uncertain.

You pray. You try to trust God.

But beneath all the other questions, there may be one you are almost afraid to say aloud:

Will God take care of me here?

This is the wilderness.

And this is where the story of manna begins.

Between What Was and What Will Be

The Israelites had left Egypt, but they had not yet reached the Promised Land.

Behind them was a life they could not return to.

Ahead of them was a promise they could not yet see.

And between the two was a wilderness.

They were hungry.

They were afraid.

The familiar ways of finding food were gone, and they did not know how they would survive what lay ahead.

Then one morning, something strange appeared on the ground.

They looked at it and asked:

“What is it?”

They did not recognize God’s provision because they had never seen provision look like this before.

Moses answered:

“It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.”

The provision was already there.

They simply did not know what they were looking at.

When Provision Doesn’t Look Like the Answer

Perhaps this is one reason trusting God in uncertain times can be so difficult.

We often know exactly what we think His provision should look like.

The job should come through.

The relationship should be restored.

The money should arrive.

The door should open.

The prayer should be answered in the way we have imagined.

Sometimes it is.

But sometimes God’s provision enters our lives in a form we do not immediately recognize.

A different door opens.

A person appears at the right moment.

A plan falls apart and quietly redirects our path.

Strength comes for something we were certain we could not endure.

There is enough for this day when we were desperately asking how we would survive the next year.

And sometimes the provision is quieter still.

The strength to get out of bed.

The courage to make the call.

A meal.

A friend.

A moment of peace in the middle of fear.

Enough grace to take one more step.

We can miss these things when our eyes are fixed on the answer we expected.

But the wilderness is not proof that God has abandoned us.

Sometimes the wilderness is where the things we once depended upon fall away—and where we begin learning to recognize the presence of God in ways we never had to before.

Bread for Today

God did not give Israel forty years of manna on the first morning.

He gave them bread for that day.

When tomorrow came, there would be manna for tomorrow.

But they could not gather tomorrow’s manna today.

This may be one of the hardest lessons of faith.

We want the whole journey.

God gives us the next step.

We want certainty about tomorrow.

God meets us today.

We want to know how everything will work out.

God gives us enough grace for where our feet are standing now.

This is not a promise that tomorrow will be easy.

It is not a promise that every loss will be restored exactly as we hope.

And it does not mean faith requires us to pretend the wilderness isn’t frightening.

It means we are not being asked to live tomorrow yet.

You do not have to carry tomorrow while you are still living today.

Tomorrow is not here.

But God is.

What Is in Front of You?

Perhaps there is something in your life right now that you do not recognize.

Something you have looked at and wondered:

What is this?

Why this?

How could this possibly be part of the answer?

You may not understand what God is doing.

You may not know where this road leads.

You may still be standing in that uncomfortable place between what was and what will be.

But before fear carries you into every possible tomorrow, look again at today.

What has been given?

What strength do you have for this day?

Who has God placed beside you?

What small door is still open?

What grace appeared this morning that you almost overlooked because you were waiting for something bigger?

The Israelites looked at manna and asked:

“What is it?”

They did not understand it.

But they gathered it.

And it fed them.

Perhaps faith sometimes begins there.

Not with understanding everything.

Not with seeing the whole road.

But with receiving what God has given for this day.

Perhaps some of the things you cannot understand now will one day have another name.

Provision.

Mercy.

Grace.

A way through.

For today, you do not need the whole journey.

Gather what has been given.

Receive the grace that is here.

Take the step that is yours to take.

And leave tomorrow where it belongs.

In the hands of God.

Today’s bread. Today’s grace. Today’s trust.

A Prayer for the Wilderness

Father,

I do not know what comes next.

There are things I cannot control, questions I cannot answer, and parts of the road ahead that I cannot see.

Sometimes I am afraid that when I get there, I will not have what I need.

Help me remember that I am not there yet.

I am here.

And You are here with me.

Open my eyes to the provision I may be overlooking because it does not look the way I expected.

Give me today’s bread.

Give me today’s grace.

Give me the courage to take today’s step.

When I reach for tomorrow before it comes, teach me to place it back into Your hands.

And when tomorrow arrives, help me trust that I will find You there too.

Amen.