Faith-bearing Seed for the Soul
"While the earth remaineth,
Seedtime and harvest
....shall not cease"

Genesis 8:22

A Lotta Bread and Three Feet of Meat!

Harbor House was the first ministry that the Lord led me into. We were housing, and ministering to right out of our own home, over thirty alcoholics, drug addicts, gang leaders, and runaways for a period of three years, and it was all done on FAITH! Whenever we had a need, we prayed to the Lord and expected him to supply it.

It was a great opportunity to learn about His provision. I must say, however, that there were times that going back to my executive position at the insurance agency looked mighty tempting!

On one particular day, we had only three dollars, and my husband was in the process of sending one of the girls to the day old bread outlet to get as much bread as she was able to for that amount. A local grocery store chain manager interrupted him with a call to happily report that someone had come in and paid for some chicken and bread for us. Without a thought he told the young lady to, "Go ahead anyway and get the day old bread because what was paid for at the grocery store PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH ANYWAY!" Was he thinking that God's arm was too short to supply, like Moses had thought when God told him he would supply meat for the million or more men, women and children in the desert?

Numbers 11:21-23 (Emphasis mine)

And Moses said, "The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, 'I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.' Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish in the sea, be gathered together for them to provide enough for them?" And the Lord said to Moses, "Has the Lord's arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether my Word will befall you or not."

There were eight chickens and 1,500 loaves of bread at the store for us. And, for OVER ONE MONTH my husband picked up case after case of every kind of bread imaginable from that store. Every two to three days they called again with 1,500 more loaves to be picked up. He hauled bread to every charitable organization in the Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona area until finally one day he desperately prayed, "God, please stop...I can't  take it anymore. It's enough!" That very day was the last time the grocery store manager called us to come pick up bread! God was merciful! We never did know who paid for the bread but we sure knew WHO sent it!

Those Israelites had wailed at Moses, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" The Lord heard them and it angered Him. What they were saying is that they had it better in the bondage of the world than they had it eating manna, the heavenly bread provided by God from heaven. I am told that it tasted a lot like angel food cake. You could say they wanted their cake and eat it too! God supplied their meat, however,  by way of driving quail from the sea to fall at their campsite.

Numbers 11:31 (Emphasis mine)

It (the wind) brought them (the quail) down all around the camp to about  THREE FEET above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction....

That's MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF BUSHELS OF QUAIL! No one gathered less than 60 bushels of quail. Can't you just see this sight? Sounds like some of them had meat nearly up to their eyeballs. And just imagine the filth involved...the droppings on the Statue of Liberty would probably look like child's play in comparison...and then the inners and feathers all over the place after cleaning them. It appears that a sickness would be evident naturally from all the filth, but the Bible says that God sent a severe plague upon those who had craved "other food."

When the Lord delivers us out of the world, He's able to meet our every need. Sometimes it might not be the way we expect it or all that we want, but, be assured of this one thing...when we begin craving the things we had back in our old life and start desiring other than what he has provided in His Son Jesus Christ, we can expect the same reaction out of God that the Israelites got.

Numbers 11:33

But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people.

God put up with their murmuring and complaining for over forty years, just like he does with ours, but when our hearts desire the things of the world after we have known Him, I'm convinced that He can do nothing less to us than he did to them...He'll let us have our desires with the accompanying suffering that may go with it.

Hebrews 6:4-6

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

The Hebrews writer goes on to say, "But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompanying salvation..."

Those of us in Christ Jesus should crucified our flesh with Him and should learn to be content in whatsoever state we find ourselves in as Paul says.

Hebrews 13:5 (Emphasis mine)

Let your conduct be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you."

And, Lord, that's QUITE ENOUGH for all of us! Selah!

(For those unfamiliar with this word selah...it means to "pause for a moment and rest." In other words, I'm saying to stop and take the time to think about this message and what His Word says.)

Rooted and grounded in the love of Christ Jesus,

Marlene JuHaros,

Texas Seed Sower

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