The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
Joshua 5:12

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READ: Joshua 5:10–12

Have you ever experienced an unexpected blessing that you sensed was from God? Perhaps a random check showed up in your mailbox just in time for your next tuition bill. Or a coworker gave you their box-seat tickets to the sold-out game you really wanted to see. Or you ordered a latte and lemon loaf at Starbucks only to discover you’d forgotten your wallet—but the person behind you picked up your tab. While we can’t know for sure if these unexplained blessings were divinely sent, they sure feel like God is showing up for us.

During their 40 years of wandering after leaving Egypt, Moses and the people of Israel needed much more than a latte or box seats to a game; they had no way of feeding themselves in the desert. God sustained them through the daily delivery of “manna.” What was manna? Scripture describes it as a sweet, edible substance that appeared beneath the dew on the ground each morning. God sent quail each evening and manna each morning, and in this way, He sustained Israel for 40 years.

Israel celebrated their very first Passover meal in the Promised Land, and instead of eating that day’s manna as they’d been doing for 40 years, they prepared unleavened bread and roasted grain from their new home. God was once again sustaining them—this time through the fruits of their new fields. And the next morning? No manna appeared. Never again did God send manna from heaven. During those 40 years, God’s people had learned He could be counted on to sustain them. And they would need to rely on Him again and again as they established their home in this new land.

The spiritual significance of manna shows up again in John 6:25–35. Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 people from two small fish and five barley loaves, but the crowd asked for another sign from Him: “What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness.”

Jesus responded, “For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (vv. 30a, 31 & 33). The crowd wanted that bread, but Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (v. 35). Those who place their faith in Jesus will be sustained spiritually—and we can readily identify the big and small ways God sustains us physically, too.

A STORY OF THEN & NOW

Home At Last | Aaron & Brittany S. | Willow South Barrington

Early in our marriage, my husband and I worked for a Christian organization in Chicago that required us to raise our own financial support. Trusting God as our provider wasn’t optional back then—it was literally how we got paid. I thought I’d learned to trust God fully during that season—but I had more to learn.

Five years later, my husband took a new job out in the Northwest Suburbs and Willow South Barrington became our church home as we got involved in our section community. Then, without warning, my husband’s new company filed bankruptcy and closed its doors. As a young married couple with two small children (age two and four months) we had no income, no way to afford our rent, and we needed to relocate immediately. At the same time my father-in-law suffered a stroke over in Michigan so we packed up and moved into an extended-stay hotel near my father-in-law’s hospital in Grand Rapids to help take care of him and our family.

One evening, my two-year-old walked into our little hotel room and commented, “We’re home!” My heart cracked. This hotel room certainly didn’t feel like home to me. Yet God whispered, “Wherever you are with Me, you are home—just as you’ve made home for your children in a hotel room.” That was a turning point.

Our Willow community rallied behind us in amazing prayer and support. Soon after, someone from our Willow section helped my husband find work. We found a beautiful townhouse in Elgin—a place to heal—and we paid off the debt we’d accrued during his unemployment. Eventually, he launched his own business, which now employs 25 people.

God sustained us through a time of uncertainty, fear, and loss. He provided for us—not just financially, but relationally and spiritually. That season shaped how we lead, give, and trust. It wasn’t easy—but it made us who we are today.

DID YOU KNOW?

In Hebrew, “manna” translates to, “What is it?” When the Israelites woke to discover a strange, sweet substance covering the desert floor, they asked themselves, “What is it?”—and that’s how manna got its name. God sustained the Israelites through daily harvests of “What is it?”

A PRAYER

God, I love it when You sustain me physically, relationally, and spiritually in small or unexplainable ways. Help me trust that, just as You provided manna for Israel, you’ll continue to meet my needs today. Amen.

FOR REFLECTION

Describe a time you sensed God was showing up for you in a practical, surprising way. At the time, did you recognize that this might be God’s handiwork?

In what ways does your faith in Jesus sustain you each day?