The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God…. “

(Ex 17.11&12)

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul….. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

(Ps 23.1-3,5-6)

The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

(Matt 5.3&4)

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty….No-one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever.”

(Jn 6.35,46-51)

I have never known the terror of starvation, of not knowing where my children and livestock can get food, of fearing the worst. I have lived in a time and a land of plenty, and have enjoyed the luxury of choice in ways that many people in the world today cannot imagine. I am not proud of that, but deeply aware that it is a privilege, and one which means that I should be slow to judge the people of Israel when, in the desert, they panicked and mobbed Moses, furious with fear for their children and livestock, and well aware of danger. Not once, but several times, the Lord intervened to provide what was needed, and exhorted the people to trust him for each fresh need as it arose, so that instead of panic, they would pray and ask in faith. They were being invited to believe in God’s goodness and readiness to deliver them, to acknowledge their own helplessness.

This image of God providing food for their bodies is also meant to make us think on a deeper level, as we find through the rest of scripture.  God’s word, his life-giving communication with us, his character and glory are shown as the food that we need for a fully human life, a life where we thrive in the relationship for which we are designed – God’s beloved children. We are invited to think of feasting on these things, of feeding our minds and being sustained by them. In our helplessness, He has provided abundantly and effectively for our need – through the life-giving, atoning sacrifice of Jesus, we receive forgiveness, transformation and enter into a new existence.

We eat in order to stay alive – and for this, a very basic diet will suffice. We eat in order to remain healthy and strong for life’s activities – and for this, some variety is necessary. We eat for pleasure, rejoicing in the flavours, textures, colours and satisfaction of enjoying food, one of God’s good gifts to us and designed to bring us joy and move us to thankfulness.

When I think of God’s provision for us, I like to think of these three different things. We need Christ in order to live… without him, we die in our sin and never know the life for which God has intended us. We need Christ in order to thrive as healthy children of God – growing in our strength and wisdom, thriving as we grasp more and more of the breadth and depth of what Jesus has done for us, and of who he is. We feast on Christ, rejoicing more and more as we learn how abundantly, gloriously he meets all our needs, and how beautiful and worthy of our adoration he is in himself, as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Heavenly Father, even as I thank you each day for the physical food which nourishes my body, let me grow in gratitude for the food which you supply so abundantly for my life as your child.

I belong in your kingdom, your life is in me because I am your child, and that life is sustained, strengthened and enriched as I take time to think about you, as Jesus has revealed you to us and as we meet you in the bible.

Thank you for the more than adequate nourishment you give us, for the banquet which is ours to enjoy, and which will only be surpassed when we enter into the new creation, in our transformed bodies, and join with all your children at the wedding feast of Christ with his bride. Let me glorify you and enjoy all you give me today, and trust in your faithful provision for my future, in Jesus’ name, Amen.