God Provides for Us, Especially in Our Transitions

"And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." (Joshua 5:12)

Change is not easy, but it does happen, and God gets us through the transitions in our lives. He wants us to have life and that more abundantly (John 10:10), and that means embracing the dynamic and going into newer, better places.

He wants us to prosper and be in health (3 John 2), which means that we are going to see our lives grow. Sometimes, that means getting rid of dependence on things from the past that no longer can help us in the present or prepare us for the future.

Consider the Israelites. God promised to Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey:

"Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee." (Genesis 13:17)

and

"And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey." (Deuteronomy 26:9)

Now, the first generation of Israelites, those 20 and older, rejected God's promise because they did not believe Him, but instead heeded the evil report of the Timid Ten Spies (Numbers 13:31-33):

"1And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!" (Numbers 14:1-2)

Wandering forty years in the wilderness, God still provided for the new generation of Israelites, that they would depend on Him and realize that He was worthy of our trust.

The manna and then the quails came down:

"Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no." (Exodus 16:4)

He also provided quails for them, too:

"And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host." (Exodus 16:13)

The Israelites endured a number of transitions in their redemption from Egypt to the Promised Land.

Notice, though, that when Joshua brought them finally into Canaan, that all the food was made ready for them. They produce from the ground was ready to be harvested. They first partook of the food in the new country, and then the next day the manna ceased from falling.

God does not take away our current provision. He gives us something better first, then removes from us what we had depended on before.

In the larger revelation, God sent us His own Son, the Bread of Life (John 6: 35) while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8), living in ourselves and for ourselves, dead in our trespasses.

God did not take away what we were, but gave us something better: Jesus!

"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4)

and also

"11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:11-14)

When God wants us to shift from one facet of life to another, God does not shut off the provision, but brings into newer and better. When He recognizes that we are resting and receiving His new provisions, He will remove what we had depended on before!