One Day at a Time

We live in a world where we’re trained to think ahead. Whether it’s retirement planning, kids’ futures, career trajectory, or financial security, we live in a “next” world. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because trying to be ready is responsible and wise, but it’s one thing to think about what’s next and another thing to live there.

A lot of us don’t just plan for the future, we live in the future. So, we don’t just live today, we drag tomorrow into it. We’re constantly trying to make sense and control what’s next so that nothing catches us off guard.

It’s a subtle shift. We go from being responsible and prepared to restless and controlling. Our tendency in life is to rely on the “controlled” in life, and this isn’t because we’re bad people, but because we’re human and we don’t like the feeling of not knowing if we’ll be okay.

We don’t mind trusting God when we can also see how it’s going to work. And for many of us, that doesn’t feel spiritual, it feels irresponsible because we all want to trust God, but it’s hard to trust what we can’t see.

But what if you could see it?

What if trusting God means something different?

Editing The Past
Have you ever talked with someone who finally left a job they hated as they started their new one? They might have a hard time adjusting to the new position, making them long for the old, reliable one they had, even if they were unhappy.

We don’t miss what was good… we miss what was known.

This is where Israel is in Exodus 16. They’re free but complaining.

Exodus 16
3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

They’re remembering Egypt like it was a buffet!

They selectively remember the food, whips, oppression, and the desperate cries to God for deliverance. And before we look down on the Israelites, we have a version of this, too. Slavery always looks better in hindsight when freedom feels hard.

It’s how we look back at scary times of “slavery” in our lives. Times that God brought us out of that we don’t recall as clearly because living in freedom is difficult. Why do we do this? Because freedom comes with uncertainty. We’d rather have predictable bondage than uncertain freedom.

We would rather stay with what is known and prepared than confront the fact that to be free means we’re not in control.

We don’t just need God to change our situation, we need Him to change our thinking about it. If we focus on always wanting things to be easy, we will revert to a time when things were more secure, when things get confusing or challenging.

Enough for Today
Exodus 16
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,

God could’ve given them a week’s supply, a month, or a stocked warehouse in the wilderness. He doesn’t. Instead, He is retaining them to live a completely different way. Not by control, but by trust.

God doesn’t promise us tomorrow’s clarity, He promises to meet our needs today. He’s not telling us to stop planning, working, or using our brains, he’s telling us He will provide. It’s about seeing Him as our source.

Trust
Why does God only give us enough for today?

Trust is not built in one big moment. It’s built in a thousand small ones. This is what God is doing with Israel and us. He’s inviting us into a relationship where we experience His goodness, faithfulness, and provision over and over again.

He’s not just meeting your needs, He’s developing a daily rhythm, a practice that sees not just what He gives, but who He is.

Exodus 16
“In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,

God isn’t just giving them bread, He’s giving them evidence. It’s not just, “God fed us.” It’s, “God is here. God is leading us. God is the one who brought us out.”

If God gave them everything up front, they might enjoy the provision, but they would miss the Provider.

We need to be people who can see and sense God's presence. We need to develop a daily practice of dependence and desperation on God, and on God alone, to supply our needs. It all comes from and is sustained through God.

Have you ever had just enough show up right when you needed it? That wasn’t luck, that was God. We need to recognize when things come from the Lord.

If everything we have comes from our achievement, striving, or control, we will never become  people who can see God’s movement in the world and our lives. That’s what God is saying to His people.

This isn’t just about bread. This is about belief. Because those two things are always connected.

• Grumbling… and knowing.
• Anxiety… and trust.
• Provision… and identity.
  
  

When we live as if we don’t have, it reveals that we’ve forgotten who God is, because if we truly knew Him, we wouldn’t live as if everything depended on us.

This doesn’t mean life is easy. It doesn’t mean there aren’t real needs, fears, or uncertainty, but it does mean that your response reveals your trust in God.

Hoarding For Tomorrow
Exodus 16
16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

They are told to take what they need for the day and not store it. And what happens? They hoard it or try to stock up. They doubt God’s provision, and it rots. Why? Because tomorrow’s provision only comes from tomorrow. You can’t stockpile what God will give you tomorrow today.

What if we became the kind of people who didn’t live in constant anxiety about what’s next, but actually trusted God enough to live fully present today? Not because life is easier, but because our trust is deeper, if that were available to you, would you want it?

This isn’t just a prayer, it’s a reorientation. It’s choosing trust over control and dependence over self-sufficiency. And what you might start to realize is that God is already providing more than you realized. You just haven’t been looking for it.