NEW EVERY MORNING

“Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits” (Psalm 68:18).

Every single day the manna fell. As the children of Israel tramped through the wilderness, God showered His people with bread from heaven. The Bible says it was a small round substance, “as fine as the frost on the ground” (Exodus 16:14). It looked like white coriander seed, tasting like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:31). The Israelites “ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil” (Numbers 11:8). For forty years it fell, morning by morning, a blessing sent straight from heaven.

Manna was given new each day. You couldn’t keep some of yesterday’s manna, thinking it would be good to eat tomorrow. If you tried, it just spoiled. And any manna that wasn’t gathered on the ground melted away by the hot sun. For forty years, the children of Israel clearly saw that God gave bountiful blessings every day and if they wanted to eat, they must gather them up.

 This same lesson is for us. God  “daily loads us with benefits.” Some of His blessings are found in His Word, others are all about us, ready to be gathered up. But like the children of Israel, we have to go out each morning to find what God has given. We  have to take the time to look—to see the blessings out there.

When you first go out to gather God’s manna, you may only see the obvious ones—how He kept you safe through the night, supplied food on your table and clothes on your back. But if you ask Jesus to open your eyes, you will see much more. You will see His compassion in forgiving your sins, the smile on your baby’s face, the joy in serving others, the peace He floods in your heart. When you begin to praise God for His ‘new’ blessings every morning, you will be surprised at how many blessings you will see.

 And the greatest blessing of all may be an attitude of gratitude growing in your heart. I’ve discovered that as I praise the Lord for 5 new blessings each day, I have more to thank Him for. I see His love all around me, even when life throws me off balance, and I have to wander in the wilderness through trials and suffering. But the blessings are still there because God’s love never fails. “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22,23).

“The more we praise God, the more we shall have to praise Him for, and our hearts will become attuned to His praise” (Review and Herald, 5/26/89).

“Our devotional exercises should not consist wholly in asking and receiving. Let us not always be thinking of our wants and never of the benefits we receive. We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks. We are the constant recipients of God’s mercies, and yet how little gratitude we express, how little we praise Him for what He has done for us” (Call to Stand Apart, pg. 28).

 We praise You, O Lord, for the gifts of Your love. Open our eyes to see how much we have been showered with! Open our mouths to pray and praise You and give You all the glory! We are so grateful to You, the Giver of every good gift! And thank You for Your greatest gift of all—in giving us Your Son Jesus who died for us, intercedes for us, and lives in us through Your precious Spirit. To Him be all the praise, both now and forever. Amen.