“This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.”

Psalm 34:6

The emphasis isn’t on self-esteem; it’s on God-exaltation.

Until we look at ourselves in light of Who God is, we’ll never fully realize who we are and what we need from Him (Is. 6:1-6). There’s no doubt King David knew this truth when he penned today’s Manna—for you don’t usually refer to yourself as “this poor (Heb. ‘aniy’—‘depressed in mind or circumstances, afflicted, lowly, needy, etc.’) man” unless you’ve known humility that springs from humiliation firsthand.

Since this Manna was most likely written from the cave Adullah after he’d escaped from the Philistine king, Achish (I Sam. 21:10-22:1), we can safely assume he was thankful to have escaped with his life. They knew who David was. . .how he’d killed their champion, Goliath. . . and how he’d “slain his tens of thousands” (v.11).

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Psalm 34:1

It must be both intentional and incessant.

“Praise to the Lord.”

When David penned the lyrics to today’s Manna, he’d just escape from the potentially murderous grasp of Abimelech. Most likely, that was a Philistine king’s title (like that of Pharaoh for the Egyptians) and he was probably Achish, king of Gath (I Sam. 21:10). To escape, David feigned madness, “scrawling on the gates and letting spittle run down his beard” (v.13). He did so because Achish’s servant had already reminded him of who David was (vv.11-12).

So, we shouldn’t be surprised that the shepherd-king felt like singing and praising God when he escaped to the cave in Adullam (I Sam. 22:1). We would have too!!

How often we forget to stop and thank the Lord after He’s blessed us in a wonderful way or answered our prayer in a time of need. Much better it is if we’ll say/sing with David, “I will bless (Heb. ‘barak’—‘to kneel, salute, give thanks to, etc.’) the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

“. . .for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’.”

Hebrews 13:5b

If there was ever a time we need to know (and believe) this, it’s now.

How goes it today, Pilgrim?

Seriously, how are you doing? Are you sleeping okay at night? Or, do you find it hard to rest because your mind won’t shut down? Are you burdened over family issues. . .financial problems . . .the condition of the world, your church, others’ inconsideration. . .past sins, etc.?

If so, this Manna’s for you.

Why not pull up a chair and sit a while? Pour yourself another cup of coffee and chew the cud on these words for a few minutes: “. . .for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’.”

Who’s the “He” here?

We know, don’t we?

Yep—our “sparrow-watchin’, hair-countin’, tear-catchin’ God.” The same One Who flung the sun, moon and stars into outer space by speaking. . .scooped out the ocean beds and lakes with hollow of His Hand. . .carved the mountain ranges out of granite. . .and taught the birds to fly and the fish to swim.

“But God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world—for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”

Galatians 6:14-15

There’s no other reason or motivation for doing so.

“Only in the Cross.”

The Apostle Paul had known “success” in his life—at least from the world’s perspective. He was a Roman citizen from birth (Acts 22:26-29), which made him a member of the “elite” ruling class and afforded him special privileges. Likewise, from a religious standpoint, he had the right pedigree, education and “faith-fervor” that put him at the top-of-his-class (Phil. 3:3-6).

But, after his Damascus Road experience (Acts 9:1-9), his life, purpose, priorities, passions, etc., were all changed. No longer did he pride himself in his abilities, achievements, accolades and others’ applause; instead, it was all about Him—Jesus, the Risen Lord (Phil. 3:7-14).

That’s why his epistle to the churches in Galatia—the central part of Asia Minor where the Celtic tribes settled after their conflicts with the Romans and Macedonians—is a defense of the Gospel of salvation by faith. Although we don’t know exactly where these churches were in that region, we do know they were under attack from the Judaizers. . .those professing Jewish-Christians, who insisted that even born-again believers should continue to be circumcised, observe the feast days, etc. . .IF they were “truly saved.”

“Therefore, behold the days come, says the Lord, that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;’ but ‘The Lord lives that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands whither He had driven them’—and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.”

Jeremiah 16:14-15

When we walk with Him, we truly know “His compassions fail not, but are new every morning” (Lam. 3:21-23).

Could it be that somehow we’ve equated God’s salvation to a past tense event. . .a moment in time. . .instead of a present tense, continuous action reality? Today’s Manna reminds us of this and we’d do well to “chew the cud” on it for quite a while.

It’s clear the comparison used here is between Israel’s deliverance from Egypt so many hundreds of years before and their future deliverance from Babylonian captivity. So often our focus is on what God’s done in the past rather than what He’s doing in our lives right now.

For sure, we should be thankful for those times in the past when He reached down and “plucked our feet from the miry clay, set our feet upon a rock, established our goings and put a new song—even a song of praise—within our mouths” (Ps. 40:1-3). However, our praise shouldn’t stop there; instead, it, too, should be “new every morning.”

“And now for a little space Grace has been showed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a nail in His Holy Place—that our God may lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage, for we were bondmen; yet, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the House of God and to repair the desolations thereof and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.”

Ezra 9:8-9

How thankful we should be His Eternal Plan includes us after His Son takes up residence in our hearts.

Picture, if you will, a large map of man’s history hanging on the wall—from the time Almighty God created all that is until that Day when He finally ushers in the new Heaven and new earth. On this map is listed every event that’s ever happened. . .every kingdom that’s ever existed. . .every person who’s ever lived, etc.

Now, go to the map and find that moment in history when you were born. Look at those events that were occurring the day you were born, as well as those that’d occurred 5-10 years before and after. Stick a colored pin in the map at on the day you were born. Then go further down until the day you met Jesus as your Savior and place another pin in the map to commemorate your having been born into the Family of God.

Did you realize that second pin marks the time when God “gave you a nail in His Holy Place” or a “place in His Eternal Plan”?

Think about it, dear Pilgrim: