You might have come to a point in life where you had to deal with things that came to an end; you lost your main client, a friend you could always count on moved away, or a loved one who went to be with the Lord. You have seen God’s blessing in the past but feel as if it has been taken away… God will never allow something to end unless He has something better coming. The scripture says Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. 2 Corinthians 2:9
Sometimes, whatever God allows to come to an end doesn’t make sense to us, we don’t understand why the friend walked away, why the relationship didn’t work out, why the business pushed us out, why sales aren’t what they used to be. God is not doing that to make your life more difficult, He is positioning you for something better. He had to allow what was working to stop, for you to put your faith to work, and come into the greater provision and greater favour He has prepared for you!
This is what happened with the Israelites; every morning God gave them something called “Manna”(Exodus 16:31), it was like bread that formed on the ground. And as they travelled the desert for forty years, one thing they could always count on was the manna. They had enemies to fight and overcome them, there were snakes and scorpions, but every day, like clockwork they had manna. They knew that was the hand of God taking care of them.
What they didn’t realize was that the manna was only a temporary provision. They were satisfied, they had something to eat but God wasn’t satisfied, He was taking them into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land filled with food and resources. When they got close to the Promised Land, something interesting happened.
The scripture says, the manna ceased and they never saw the manna again. Imagine what the people thought, after forty years of having manna, over 14,000 mornings they got up and had breakfast at their tent. Now, it was nowhere to be found. Imagine what they were saying at this point “God, what’s happening? Why aren’t you providing for us anymore”? (Joshua 5:12)
When something ceases in your life, it’s an indication that something better is coming. God never allow something to stop, unless He has greater provision on the way. Maybe you had a setback in your family. Now, it’s not as easy as it used to be, the manna has stopped coming… It’s because something better is coming.
The challenges with the manna is a sign that you are close to your Promised Land. What you were satisfied with was only a temporary provision. You were blessed, life is good, but God has so much more in store for you. He had to cease the friendship, He had to move that person away, not because they were not good, but because they were limiting you, they can’t go where you are going. God had to close that door so He could bring people into your life, that will push you into your purpose.
As they got closer, they had to grow up. God expected them to stand firm, encourage themselves and fight off the fear. He was saying, “The day is over when I’m going to bring you the manna, the provision is all around you. I have brought you this far, I fought all your battles, and I gave you breakfast every morning but for you to enter the place of abundance, you have to step up”.
Sometimes God will allow a door to close, irrespective of how much we don’t like it, it would remain closed. The good news is that God never closes a door, unless He is about to open another door. He ceases the manna unless He has greater provision coming. Too often we try to hold on to old manna, old friendships, old positions or old mindsets… When that manna ceases, that means God is doing a new thing, something better is coming and you have to let go of the former!
God has freshness, He is the God of new beginnings. Yes, the manna was good for a season, it brought you to the Promised Land, and it sustained you while you were learning, but at some point, the manna is going to cease… That’s when you have to prepare your food. You have to step up to who you were created to be.
God told the prophet Elijah to go down to the brook called Cherith and the ravens would feed him there. He arrived at the brook, he had provision day after day. He didn’t have to go get the food himself, every day the ravens came to him. He had home delivery like some of our home delivery services. I’m sure, he thought, “It can’t get any better than this. God, you are so good to me, for months the ravens kept coming”. (1Kings 17:1-7)
He was comfortable, he knew he had God’s blessing. But one day, the brook dried up and the ravens quit coming. God said, “Elijah, now I want you to go to the city of Zarephath, I have a widow who is going to take care of you”. Elijah could have said, “That couldn’t be God. He has blessed me here. I have seen His favour, I’m gonna stay where I am”. He could have held on to the old. The issue here was that the brook dried up, and the ravens quit coming. Why? It was a temporary provision (1Kings 17:8-16)
Elijah ministries began when he went to the city of Zarephath… He saw some of the greatest miracles ever recorded in the scripture. It’s not a coincidence that had happened after the brook dried up, after the manna ceased, when it seemed like God had forgotten about him, when it looked like he didn’t have the favour and influence that he once had; that was a sign of something better coming. A sign of stepping into a new level of his destiny.
A SIGN OF SOMETHING BETTER!
Are you frustrated because the brook dried up? Discouraged because the manna stopped, things are not happening like they used to? What you don’t realize is that God is positioning you for increase. It’s your sign of something better. Yes, get ready; something better is coming. It’s your sign of a new and higher level!
It looks like a setback but it’s a setup. God is about to do something that you have never seen. The brook drying up is not the end, it’s a sign that greater provision, greater influence and greater anointing are coming. Don’t complain about the brook, get ready for the new things God is about to do. Thank Him, when you don’t see any sign of water, trust Him and keep doing the right thing.
In the year 2006, Bobby Gruenewald had a dream to put the Bible on the computer, so he developed a website where the Bible was available and you could make notes on the site, like a traditional print Bible, you could pull out scriptures and send to people – a lot of features that had never been done before.
He thought it was a good idea, but after the first month, only 20,000 people had visited the site and very little engagement. He was okay with it, but they were hoping for a lot more. He and his team have spent a lot of time and money, and after a year they were ready to shut it down, “it wasn’t worth the effort” they said!
Two weeks before they pulled the plug, he had another idea; what if, instead of making a website with the Bible, they made the Bible available on a mobile phone, that way people would have the Bible everywhere they went. He was a little concerned about how such a big book would fit on a tiny screen, but something felt good on the inside.
In 2008 he and his team designed and built a mobile website for the Bible. Not long after that, Apple announced that they were offering the opportunity to develop what we now know as apps on our phones. He submitted his app, it was approved and available the first day the App Store was launched on Apple. They were hoping for 80,000 downloads the first year, but in three days they had 83,000 downloads. Today the Youversion Bible App, developed by Bobby Gruenewald, has been downloaded on over 400 million phones in every country of the world.
What’s interesting is that the success came after the brook dried up, after the manna ceased, when Bobby was tempted to give up. Sometimes God allow the shut doors to push us into our Promised Land. He ceases the manna because it is a temporary provision. Yes, it would have sustained us, but what God has in mind is much bigger, much better than what we are used to!
Maybe the manna has ceased in some area of your life, you are tempted to give up on a dream or lose your passion. What this means is that something better is coming. The brook drying up is a sign that God is positioning you for something that you have never seen or heard before!
Now, it’s not the time to get discouraged, it is the time to get ready. Stir up your faith, you are close to your Promised Land. If you will do this, I decree and declare; like Elijah, like with Bobby, supernatural doors are about to open, new relationships, new opportunities, healing, breakthroughs, the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus’ name Amen.
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’
