Fresh manna vs. molded bread!
Verse for Today: Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Joshua 9:14 – The men of Israel sampled (Gibeonites’) provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.
It is important for God’s people to learn to inquire of the Lord when they take each step of the way on their walk to the Promised Land. The enemy will try to get into our ranks to weaken us and to ultimately defeat us. The Gibeonites might not pose any immediate threat, but their presence among them will ultimately divide the nation of Israel. They will come with great tactics to weaken God’s people. God had already warned His people to beware of the subtle ways of the enemy to weaken them. It seems the Israelites were easily attracted by the dry and moldy food of the enemy and were tempted to try it out. They were also trapped by the seemingly nice words of the enemy and fell for it. But they forgot to ask of the Lord who would have told them what to do. Even the leaders like Joshua fell for the schemes of the Gibeonites and entered into a treaty with them. Today the enemy comes to God’s people to attract them with moldy methods, approaches and styles in our personal lives and ministries. We are tempted to fall for their dry and molded techniques in our work for the Lord. As a result, our lives become dry and molded, with the foul worldly smell. But little do we realize that these are all anathema to the Lord. He has already given His people a new heart with Spirit-controlled methods for life and ministry. But the sensational appeal of the enemy is powerful to tempt and make us fall for it. The enemy’s approaches become appealing to our eyes and ears and we surrender our senses to these new methods and forget to ask our Lord for direction and guidance. Today we are warned to beware of the subtleties of the enemy and to keep away from their ways lest we fall.
Dear reader, are you aware of the strategies of the enemy to trap you with his ungodly ways and means? The enemy comes with unimaginable subtleties and attractive words. He tries to trap us with his dry and moldy means and tempt us to taste it. Our anxious souls might be tempted to taste it, but we need to first ask our Lord for guidance before taking the first step. The Israelites would have at least heard about Manna and the ways of the Lord to feed and quench them. When the enemy comes to knock at the doors of our hearts and offers dry and molded materials from his arsenal, we must stop for a moment and inquire of the Lord. We should have the spiritual tenacity to refuse to even taste their spoiled food which would damage our souls. Let us depend on our Lord to give us what we need to eat and drink, as He has done in the past. He has promised to give us our daily bread and it was He who gave us our necessities until yesterday. What the enemy offers is only for a few days, but our Lord’s supplies will never get exhausted. So let us trust Him to continue to give us our basic needs as we fight spiritual wars for Him. He will not disappoint us nor will He embarrass us in the presence of our enemies. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. His table is full of heavenly blessings and we will not lack any good thing. Let us forsake the dry and molded means of the world. Let our eyes be always upon the Lord and His provisions which will come at the right time to feed us and our families as we continue to strive for Him.
Psalms 104:28 – When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
Thought for Today
The heavenly feast that our Lord spreads before us each day gives us far greater satisfaction and nourishment than any dry and molded means the world offers.
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