Moldy Bread

In the tropics, things get moldy QUICK! Bread here doesn't have preservatives, and unless you put the bread in the fridge, it will last 2 days, tops. When we first moved down, used to the highly preserved breads of the US, we lost a lot of good bread.

In the Bible, the nation of Israel spent 40 years in the desert, relying on bread (manna) from heaven and quail to survive. The bread was like wafers that settled on the ground in the morning, which the Israelites had to gather for their food. They had specific instructions to only gather enough for each day, otherwise it would be "full of maggots and begin to smell."

Deuteronomy 8:3

3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." If my sustenance is less physical than it is spiritual, how often am I going out to gather my daily portion? Am I holding onto a word from Sunday several days into the week? Am I putting the word away for a rainy day, rather than digesting it and letting it strengthen me today? A daily word left uneaten will spoil just as surely as bread.

I'm not someone who likes to run errands. If I can get enough groceries for the week or longer, I'm a happy girl. If I buy bread, I want it to last, so I don't have to go "gather" again tomorrow. Repetitive menial actions are a thorn in my flesh; they just rub me the wrong way.

Reflecting on manna, and seeing moldy bread in my fridge, reminds me that God has a daily word for me. Will I get up, strap on my sandals and gather it? Or will I leave it out there, to dissolve with the dew?