When God brought the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery and into the desert, he chose to provide a special kind of food for them: manna, bread from heaven. The purpose of the manna was to sustain the Israelites on their journey to the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. When they finally got there, the manna stopped, and the people began to live off of the produce of the land. I’m sure some of the people welcomed such a change to their diet after 40 years of eating the same thing, while there were others, creatures of habit, who had their reasons to prefer the old ways. Like it or not, though, the change came upon them. Their task was to accept what God was giving them and God’s way of giving, and so to find nourishment and life.
God is a loving father who knows how to nourish his children. Not only does he provide us with bodily food, but, more importantly, with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He gives us the nourishment that he judges best for us. Furthermore, it may be that he feeds us the same way as before, or he may impose a change on our diet. It’s his choice. Whether we are tired of the same old thing or are content with it, whether we are craving a novelty or an old stand-by, we must consider, above all, where God is leading us. He is the shepherd that leads us to good pasture.