Only Enough for Today

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."                   Lamentations 3:22-23

    I have heard this verse so many times, "the Lord's mercies are new every morning." Great verse; but it never really meant that much to me until I read the story of the Israelites in Exodus this morning, when God sent them Manna to eat. He gave them sustenance every morning, enough for each day; but here's the commandment that was the kicker: they could only gather enough for each day. No saving or it would go bad and attract worms, no taking more than you need or others wouldn't have enough. But if everyone followed the commands and trusted God, they would all have enough to eat; they would all have enough to sustain them...
      My life has been CRAZY lately! Lots of changes going on that I never predicted would happen. I'm being put into some positions that I never thought I would be and put in others that I had dreamed of for a while.
Basically, I'm being stretched.
A lot.
And usually whenever this happens, God shows me something amazing to spiritually fill me up completely and overwhelmingly to get me through this season. Something that I could constantly look back to and it would give me the strength to get through a particularly hard day or just remind me that He's still working. But not this time.
    God was telling me today that He wants me to live on the same concept in His grace right now as the Israelites and the Manna. I didn't realize that in those past seasons I would fill up with all of God's glory and power, but then rely on myself to sustain the grace that God gave me. I was still living in my own control instead of just relinquishing everything over to Him. The Lord is really pushing me this season to just be filled up every day by Him and live in His grace and mercies. To rely on Him each new day for the sustenance He wants to give me. That's how He intended me to live: fully dependent on Him for everything. I can't store up on yesterday's grace because it wasn't meant to be enough for more than yesterday's circumstances.
I have to fully trust on Him just to live in each day. It's kinda scary. But it's also the best place I could ever be in, so intimate with my Savior that I can only go to Him with everything. There is no other option. It's freeing. To just live in God's grace and mercies for each day.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

Waiting for God's Blessings

      I've been rereading through the story of Jacob in the Bible lately. The poor kid had trouble from the very beginning! Even while still in his mother's womb, the Bible says Rebekah could feel Jacob and his brother wrestling inside her. Well his brother wins that battle and comes out first and then when he does finally come out, his parents name him "deceiver"! Who does that to their kid? I mean seriously, talk about emotional baggage from the beginning! Needless to say, Jacob had problems early on in life.
But he was also called by God to a remarkable purpose early in life. God told Rebekah,

"Two nations are in your womb,

Two peoples shall be separated from your body;

One shall be stronger than the other, 

and the older shall serve the younger." Genesis 25:23

      God called Jacob to a great purpose; he would become a great nation. But as the younger brother, he would get nothing from his father. Jacob believed God would make him into a great nation, but he was so fixed on what he thought he should have, that he missed all that God was offering him. Jacob only thought in terms of his culture, of the blessing his brother would get instead of him. So he lived up to the label that was given him: deceiver. He deceived his brother out of his birthright, taking all the land that would have one day been Esau's. Then when his father was old and sick, Jacob did, what I think was the worst thing of his life: he deceived his father and stole his brother's blessing.

      Jacob grew impatiant with God's promises. Something that I've been finding myself doing lately as well. He couldn't wait for God's timing. And his vision wouldn't go beyond the blessings in front of him that were to go to his brother. So he tried to take matters into his own hands and steal a blessing for himself. Yet all along, God had another more grander plan in mind for Jacob. When he was out in the wilderness (running from his angry brother, no less) God showed Jacob what his blessing was. He gave him a vision of Angels climbing up and down a ladder to Heaven. God showed Jacob that his blessing was higher than just earthly things. God wanted to bless Jacob beyond his imaginings and give him a heavenly blessing as well.

      I wonder how many times we miss what God has planned for us, simply because we get impatient waiting on Him. We see all that's in front of us and naturally assume that's what God wants to give us, so we try to take it. But usually, the blessings right in front of our face are for someone else. God wants to grow us, expand us, and give us things we can't imagine. It's always more with God, never less. So when we wait on Him and His promises, we get a higher blessing; a heavenly Kingdom blessing. God is always faithful to complete His promises.

"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we don't lose heart." Galations 6:9