Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.’

For the Israelites at this time the guidance of God was clear and unmissable. Wherever they were on their journey, it was because God had led them there. At chapter 13 verse 17 the Israelites came to a crossroads and took an unexpected turn. Where they would have anticipated heading north, they instead turned south, and this was because they were following the Lord’s instructions. As we have noted, they soon found themselves thirsty and hungry. But God was going to show Himself powerful on their behalf in these tests/trials, in spite of their bad attitudes and responses.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Give us today our daily bread’ (Matthew 6:11). From that time until now, many people praying this prayer have not known where the next day’s food is coming from. They live a day-to-day, hand-to-mouth existence. Someone said we should learn to live in ‘day-tight compartments.’ We have no guarantee of tomorrow, but we are in today, and we can trust God to meet our needs today.

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

Warren Wiersbe makes the point that this principle applies also to spiritual feeding. Each day we should come to God in Scripture and prayer, gathering the nourishment we will need for this particular day. Don’t allow your walk with the Lord to go stale.

I also note that God looks for our obedience in small ways as well as big ones (4b).

‘When circumstances are difficult, we’re prone to pray, “Lord, how can I get out of this?” when we ought to be praying, “Lord, what can I get out of this?” It isn’t important that we get our way, but it is important that God accomplishes His purposes and receives all the glory (Matt.6:33). God permits trials so that He can build godly character into His children and make us more like Jesus. Godliness isn’t the automatic result of reading books and attending meetings; it also involves bearing burdens, fighting battles, and feeling pain.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘OT Commentary’, p.172.