“...And he has only each day to be faithful for the one short day, and long years and a long life take care of themselves, without the sense of their length or their weight ever being a burden.” - Andrew Murray
God dealt with the Israelites in the desert in a way that should bring us tremendous comfort... and humility. After doing the impossible and freeing them from the tyrannical grip of Pharaoh, God walked with the Israelites every day, never leaving their side. When it was time to pack up and move, they followed and when it was time to set up camp, they dug their heels into the ground. “He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.” (Exodus 14:22, NASB).
When the people became hungry and thirsty, and their faith wavered, God continued to provide. The Israelites berated Moses and grumbled over the comfort and security that they had appeared to have left behind in Egypt (where they were slaves — let that irony sink in). After complaining that Moses and Yahweh had brought the entire nation into the desert just to cause them to starve, God graciously created a system that would provide for them each and every day. The only thing they had to do was trust Him. At this point, God brought “daily bread.” They called it manna, and every morning when they woke up, they were to gather enough for that single day; no more, no less. When Israel disobeyed and took more than their household was going to need, hoping to store it up for a rainy (or more likely a painfully dry) day, God would cause the manna to mold over and go bad. If they obeyed, they were satisfied and were able to worship God for His provision. To trust God’s providence was the greatest security for them.
If you remember, when Jesus was asked by His disciples how to pray He references this idea of “daily bread.” Fortunately, most of us are not worried about where our next meal will come. Unfortunately, most of us have forgotten the deeper meaning and have tried to store up a little bit of comfort from God so that we will not have to worry tomorrow. For this reason (false comfort and moldy bread), many of us are overwhelmed and unable to come to God in the way that He has created us to approach Him. God has called us to come to Him daily, to abide in Him the way that a branch abides in a vine, and trust that He will provide what we need for that specific day.
The beauty, and the challenge, of what Andrew Murray suggests (our opening quote) is that God sustains us for the job that He calls us to do. This means that God does not have unrealistic expectations that you will overcome every sin issue that you keep getting knocked down by according to the power of your own will; He only expects you to cling to Him today. He does not expect you to be totally transformed to look like His Son today; He just expects you to run to Him (repent) and trust in Him on this very day. Therefore, our challenge is to look at today and today alone. It is not your job to predict the future, nor is it your job to provide for yourself tomorrow. It is your job to surrender your life to the One that surrendered His life on your behalf. Use today to fall to your knees before the One that gave everything for you, and trust that He will give you what you need for today alone.