Fresh Manna!

I have been meaning to write about my last mission trip to for the past three months. I had the opportunity to go to Peru on a medical missions trip over the summer. I had no idea what to expect. I had once in a lifetime adventures happen here, but the one thing I still think about is our breakfast every morning. Our breakfast was simple. It was a singular piece of bread and nothing else. At first, I was freaking out because I didn’t know how I was going to make it to the next meal. ONE PIECE OF BREAD?

I kept staring at the piece of my bread every morning, wondering how on earth it was supposed to carry me through an entire morning of clinic and long bus rides. But somehow, it always did. Every single day. In the quiet mornings that followed, I started to notice something:

I wasn’t actually hungry. I wasn’t faint. I wasn’t lacking at all.

The bread was simple, but it was enough. It was all I needed. In fact, it was more than enough. The portion always expanded to meet the need. Daily bread doesn’t look lavish. It doesn't feel impressive. But it becomes more when it is in hands that are open to the work of the Lord.

When Elijah met the widow who was down to her last handful of flour and oil, just trying to make it to the next day, God stretched her portion. Day after day, she went back to the jar expecting it to be empty, and it never was. The flour and oil don’t run out. It wasn’t a feast. It was just enough, and then a little more. The oil is the Lord's never-ending provision and anointing over your life. Throughout Scripture, oil marks what is set apart, healed, and empowered by God. It is the quiet filling of the Holy Spirit that strengthens us when our bodies are tired and our resources feel thin.

The flour and the oil show us how God provides. The flour gives substance, and the oil gives covering. One feeds the body, and the other sustains the soul. He didn’t remove the need to return daily. He promised that when she did, He would be there. God doesn’t always give abundance in advance. He gives enough for today, with His presence to carry us through it.

Daily bread works this way. It shows up as something small. One conversation. One breath of peace. Once you step into the provision of today, it stretches. It covers more ground than it should. It holds you up in ways you have no words to explain. It becomes evidence that God isn’t simply helping you survive the day. He is teaching you that His provision alone carries power. His provision for one day has the power to change not only your life but also those around you. One touch changes everything.

This is the quiet miracle we are missing. In God’s holy hands, the “little” becomes more than enough. The simple portion of today somehow reaches into places that you didn’t know you needed filling. The provision three months ago is still reaching and touching me today.

I was talking to a good friend of mine a few weeks ago, after a long few days with little sleep, about how filled we felt even running off of no sleep and barely any food. We had communion and worship with the best community. We were constantly being filled by the Holy Spirit. Our prayers felt different; it was like his vision was resting directly upon us. Even on no food or sleep, we were overflowing with joy that comes only from the Lord. We said that we could live like this forever.

Daily bread is not a portion. It is a person. Rest in that today!