Daily grace, daily bread
“When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna came down also.” — Numbers 11:9
How quickly I forget the faithfulness of daily grace. Manna was an unknown bread to the Israelites, but God provided with something they did not yet know or have experience eating. It was sustaining their appetite and nourishing their bodies even though they did not even know the ingredients of this mystery substance. Holy food, holy bread, holy provision. Just as the dew settles on the camp at night, manna comes down also.
If I remembered this everyday, how would I live my life differently? Would I love a little easier, submit to the will of God even when I felt uncomfortable, brush off the offenses that could taint the coloring of my own self-reflection?
This Christmas, I remember the story of Max Lucado’s imaginative world of woodwork people called Wemmicks. In his children’s story titled, “You are Special” there is a quote that continues to replay itself in my head.
“The stickers only stick if you let them.” This is said by the Maker, Eli. Eli is a resemblance of God, our Maker. The stickers are the stars or grey dots that Wemmicks receive when they are either praised or mocked for their efforts. Some had many stars — dazzling with the beauty of worldly applause and favor. Some had many dots, the castaways that tried to succeed but could never quite fit the worldly standard of outward perfection. The key to living in this wooden world? Visit the Maker everyday. Let Him remind you of your worth, beauty, and identity. The stickers only stick if you let them.
Stickers given by anyone feels like a detriment or platform to our being in the world. When I receive awards, affirmation, or praise I begin to trust more in my own judgment and platform. The name I carry builds itself higher and higher until it’s almost God-height. Alternately, when I receive critiques or judgment I hang my head low — immediately accepting the words as true and letting it wring my spirit of all joy, love, and peace. So this Christmas season, I seek to remember Proverbs 30:7–9 —
“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
Is this not exactly what my focus should be on? Receiving manna everyday, trusting that what God says is true, and distancing myself as far as possible from deceit. Tonight I’ve been wrestling with voices. Some seep in with hurtful comments and dejected remarks, others attempt to claw away at the identity I’ve learned to love more than anything else — my identity as a daughter of the Highest King.
Most of the voices are painful to listen to, I sit in the stillness of my head with tears that sting because of how foolish they must look to the voices that induced them. But when I remember this proverb and the manna and the stickers that don’t have to stick, I am nothing but joyful. Jesus refused to let shame, guilt, or foolishness in the eyes of a watching world rob Him of the greatest gift God could ever give. Grace on earth, and eternal glory in the kingdom of heaven.
