The One Who… Sustains

Man, it’s been a long week. Anyone else out there, just flat exhausted?

Today, I’ve had this song in my head. It’s actually one of mine that I never finished. (Honestly, I wouldn’t even quite call it a song…more of a song start, if you will). Here, I’ll let you give it a listen.

🎶 You speak a word and suddenly every single thought of anxiety flees.

You light a lamp unto my feet and lead me on Your path of peace.

Oh, Your love is like oil, it keeps me burning.

Even in trials, my heart is yearning for You.

Sometimes, if I let myself think long enough about life and this world, I start to feel myself just ready to go. Ready to leave it all. Not in a morbid kind of way, more of like in a “I’m just tired” kind of way. I’m tired of all the noise, all the arguing and debating, all the figuring out who is trustworthy and real, just all the stuff that at the end of the day doesn’t matter at all.

One of my prayers that I often pray is, “Lord, I can do anything if you just keep speaking to me.”

I’ve mentioned this before, but I started this practice years ago, I started “giving God the pen” to my journal. It isn’t something that feels natural, it feels a little awkward actually, maybe a little silly, and definitely has to be done by faith. It’s pretty simple though. I hold my journal and pen, close my eyes and just listen.

Sometimes, I get a picture—taking a walk in the park with Him, letting Him push me on a swing, just having a conversation—pictures like that. The funny thing is, I’m always a child in these pictures. Probably between the ages of 6 and 10. I think because those are the ages I felt most free. The most myself— my quirky, silly, fully trusting, unashamed self. I was a confident daughter. And I think this is who the Lord wants to encourage me to still be.

Other times, though, the Lord might say one word. But that one word changes my whole being, perspective, day. It’s actually quite amazing when this happens.

And still other times, He speaks a whole letter and I write it down. Again, by faith, trusting that His voice will bring breakthrough, healing, direction, peace, and so much more. What is also funny about when I do this, is often (like probably every time if I really think about it) the scriptures are weaved into what He says.

One of my favorite stories to think about in the scriptures is the story of Manna, The Bread from Heaven. Anyone else sit around and think about what life would be like if for 40 years, you had to go outside and collect some sort of bread/cracker/honey wafer thing off the ground every single morning? And the Lord had extremely specific directions for this situation.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain down bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.’”

—Exodus 16:4-5

Every day.

That part has always stuck out to me. If you keep reading, some people tried to gather more to have the next day (how efficient of them), but it didn’t work. The next day, the extra manna they collected had maggots. But not on the sixth day. The sixth day, they had enough for two days, because the seventh day was of course the sabbath, therefore, the Lord wanted them to rest.

“So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” -Exodus 16: 35

I think the Lord wanted to show them and us just how trustworthy He actually is. He gave them just enough for each day, testing them, encouraging them and teaching them that they could come back to Him for sustenance every single day. He wanted to be the Provider and Sustainer.

I think we can learn a lot from this story. Jesus, not only compared Himself to this bread, He said He was actually the true bread from heaven.

“Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from Heaven, My Father did. And now He offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘give us that bread every day.’ Jesus replied, ‘I am the break of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’”

John 6:32-35

This is not physical, this is spiritual.

In the wilderness, Jesus was tired and hungry from fasting for 40 days, when the enemy came to tempt Him. Quoting Deuteronomy, Jesus responded,

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” -Matthew 4:4 (Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3)

What does all of this tell me?

1. He wants to sustain me.
2. But in order for Him to do that, I have to feast on Jesus every single day, because He is the bread from heaven that the Father has given.
3. And I can live on every word that comes from Him.
4. This is crucial for me not only to truly live, but also for me to stand firm when the attacks of the enemy come.
5. I can do anything as long as He keeps talking, but the truth is, that means I need to keep listening.

So your encouragement for the week:

Feast on Jesus every day. Practice listening. And I do mean practice and remember, by faith. Allow your heart to be changed by what He says and how He speaks into your situation. Live on every word that He says and allow Him to be the one who sustains.