Today I would like us to see what the Scriptures say about “Bread from Heaven”. The Word of God is Truth and is rich in knowledge and wisdom for us regarding our life here on the planet. When we partner with the Lord, that knowledge and wisdom is available and revealed to us.

I believe the largest source of stress, worry, and fear today is the run away inflation we are seeing in our country. We are witnessing the increase in fuel costs, which not only creates a hardship for us in affording fuel for our personal vehicles, but also causes a tremendous increase in transportation costs for all of our goods. We have seen huge price increases in everything, i.e. groceries, clothing, personal hygiene products , health care, and other essentials. My wife and I have noticed that some brands are already disappearing. We will soon be seeing a lot more empty shelves as truckers have, and will be forced to quit their jobs because they cannot afford the fuel to continue.

Whereas there is no indication that the rising prices are slowing or will come down anytime soon, we could be tempted to fall into the trap of fear and anxiety e x c e p t that we believe God is the source of everything we need!

Let’s get into the Word!

Matthew 6:25-34 (NLT), "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 28 "And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? 31 "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.” The word ‘worry’, (KJV - ‘take no thought’) in the Greek means: do not be anxious with cares, do not be troubled with cares.

These scriptures teach us to not worry about the things we need. Those who believe can rest in the infallible Word of God and the promises the Word gives us. The Bible is full of God’s promises to take care of the needs of His people.

I encourage you to meditate and reflect on these Scriptures, when you get a chance. It’s okay if your read today is fast. However, it would be helpful if you would jot down the Scripture references that really speak to your heart, and reread the verses until they become a part of you. Then, you can speak the Word of God boldly! God’s Word does NOT fail!

Isaiah 55:11 (NLT), “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

We see in Romans 4:21 (NLT) that Abraham, for whom God supernaturally provided a lamb for a sacrifice, “was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.”

Psalm 23:1 (NKJV) states, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want (be without, be lacking).”

God’s Word declares that He provides for those who fear and seek Him, as seen in Psalm 34:8-10 (NKJV), “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.”

The Lord promises to faithfully prosper those who willingly pay their tithes and offerings. Look at Malachi 3:10 and 11 (NKJV), “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts.” Take note that this is the only scriptural reference where the Lord encourages His people to ‘test’ Me, ‘prove’Me, or ‘try’ Me.

We are given an example of God’s provision when the Israelites were provided manna and quail during their forty year journey through the wilderness in Exodus 16:12-15 (NKJV), “"I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.' " 13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, [as] fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.” A New Testament reference to this supernatural provision of food by God is found in John 5: 31 (NKJV), “Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

If the day comes when we are not able to purchase the food we need, do you believe God can and will supernaturally provide what we need? I am absolutely convinced that God will do whatever is necessary to ensure that His children have food. Imagine how excited i was when doing some research for this post that I discovered a report of this very thing happening in Angola, Africa. inspirational-treasureblogspot.com tells of a modern day provision of manna to hungry Christians. Praise God! He is still our Provider!

Nehemiah 9:15a also informs us that besides the manna, the Lord also supernaturally provided water. “You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of a rock for their thirst.” There is no doubt this was a miracle from God!

Elijah experienced God’s supernatural provision more than once. He was miraculously fed by a raven (1 Kings 17:1-6). A widow who had enough flour and oil for one last meal for she and her son, was given flour and oil supernaturally by the Lord to feed them for years (till the drought ended) (1 Kings 17:12-16). Beyond that, an angel fed Elijah to prepare and strengthen him for his journey. (1 Kings 19:5-8).

Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana. (John 2:1-10). We also have an account in John 6:5-13 where Jesus fed 5,000 with a little boy’s lunch of five barley loaves and two small fish. Twelve baskets of fragments of left-overs were collected after everyone was full. Amazing!

Do you find yourself becoming anxious or troubled with concern? It can be a shock when you walk into a grocery store that has always been full and you see entire sections empty.

This is what my wife encountered this past Wednesday evening at our grocery store.

Carefully read Philippians 4:6-8 (ESV), “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” In verse 6, ‘anxious’ (merimnao) means to be anxious, to be troubled with care. ‘Prayer’ means prayer addressed to God. ‘Supplication’ (deesis) is a seeking, asking, entreating. ‘Requests’ is aitema and means: what is or what has been asked for (petition, request).

According to the New Spirit Filled Life Bible commentary, “The word supplication is more than petitioning, but suggests an intensity of earnestness in extended prayer - not to gain merit by many words, but to fully transfer the burden of one’s soul into God’s hands. Prayer and peace are closely connected. One who entrusts cares to Christ instead of fretting over them will experience the peace of God to guard him from nagging anxiety.”

In Philippians 4:7 (from above) the word ‘peace’ is eirene meaning the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, whatever sort that is. ‘Guard’ is the Greek word, phiroureo which means: to protect by guarding, or to keep.

These verses basically tell us how we can be successful in maintaining our peace in the midst of tumultuous times.

The Holy Spirit continues to promise that God will supply all of our needs according to the riches of Christ! Romans 8:32 (ESV), “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

There are two main take-aways from today’s post:

1. Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is a God of provision for His Children.

2. With the arrival of difficult times, which always brings with it the temptation to be in fear, anxiety, stress, agitation, worry, or a lack of peace, take your concerns to the Lord in earnest prayer. Then, His peace will guard your heart!

   God is able to provide for your every need. I can not tell how He will provide, but I know He will. We have seen examples of some of the ways He has provided in the past. One thing I am certain of - we cannot put God in a box and expect Him to provide in the same way every time there is a need.

   He is Almighty God, Creator, and Sustainer!

   Believe Him!

   Trust Him!

   Pray to Him!

   Let the peace of God guard your heart!

   NLT - New Living Translation

   NKJV - New King James Version

   ESV - English Standard Version

   Addendum: Just before I was preparing to put this post on the site (May 19), I read a report from the Open Bible Churches which told of seven individuals who took shelter in the basement of an apartment building in Ukraine, when their city was being shelled. The only food they had was a gallon of water and two small packets of cookies. The shelling continued for two weeks, so they remained in the basement. “Miraculously , neither the water nor the cookies ran out during the entire time, even though they all drank and ate as much as they wanted.” Praise God! He is our Provider!