Signs And Silence

I've been rewatching the first series of 'Jam and Jerusalem' this evening whilst I've been doing some work.

 

It's a comedy set in a small Devonshire town and centres around the Women's Guild.

 

In one episode, the vicar is struggling to hear God's voice.  Whenever he tries to find some space to sit in silence and listen to God, someone interrupts him or he keeps hearing loud announcements on the tannoy from a local event.

 

He is desperate for a sign from God, but he never seems to get what he wants.

 

The episode is full of people looking for different signs from God (including a potato with the face of Jesus - worth a watch if you haven't seen it), and the characters struggle to interpret them.

 

Instead of signs, most of them are met with deafening silence.

 

In the same way, the people of Israel were waiting for a sign from God for hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, but they were met with silence.  They knew that God had promised to rescue them from their exile and life of slavery, but they didn't know when this would happen.

 

What made it harder was that they knew exactly what the sign was and what they were waiting for and they were eagerly expecting it.

 

God had promised them a Saviour through His prophet Isaiah:

 

      "For to us a child is born,
      to us a son is given,
      and the government will be on his shoulders.
      And he will be called
      Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
      Of the increase of his government and peace
      there will be no end.
      He will reign on David’s throne
      and over his kingdom,
      establishing and upholding it
      with justice and righteousness
      from that time on and forever.
      The zeal of the Lord Almighty
      will accomplish this."

 

      [Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV]

 

They knew that God had promised to send a child - His own Son - who would come to bring peace and restoration to the world.  And that is what they eagerly anticipated.

 

In the same way, as we eagerly look forward to Christmas, let's remind ourselves of the sign that God has already given us through His Son and of the peace and restoration that He offers us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Bread

This evening, I'm catching up on Nigel Slater's 'Dish of the Day' programme from Friday.  His aim is to show us how to avoid wasting food, by planning out how to make the most of the weekly shop.

 

It is a well-known fact that most of us waste food by over-buying: we succumb to the 'buy one get one free' offers, or reduced goods and end up with more than we use.

 

This is something which I know I have been guilty of in the past and it can be a real struggle to plan out my cooking to ensure I don't waste food or money.  It's a struggle to make sure I have just enough food for each week and no more, which will go off and be wasted.

 

In the Bible, when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt and wandering around in the desert, God provided just enough food for them every day.  Every morning in the camp, God sent 'manna' to cover the ground, which was like honey-flavoured wafers.

 

Moses told them to only collect enough for themselves for one day (apart from the day before the Sabbath when they collected twice as much).

 

"So Moses told them, 'It’s the bread God has given you to eat.  And these are God's instructions: "Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent."' 

The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed.  

 

Moses said to them, 'Don’t leave any of it until morning.'  But they didn’t listen to Moses. A few of the men kept back some of it until morning. It got wormy and smelled bad. And Moses lost his temper with them."

[Exodus 16:15-20 MSG] 

 

I don't know how I would have felt being instructed to only collect enough food for each day, rather than being able to hoard enough for the week.  Whilst I waste some of my food if I over-buy, I prefer that scenario to not having enough.

 

It must have encouraged the Israelites to trust God more, as they were literally relying on Him for their daily bread.  Even if they tried to save it for the next day, it went mouldy.

 

They had to live each day in faith, believing and trusting that God would provide for them.

 

Jesus taught His followers to ask God and trust them for their "daily bread".  But how often do we pray this without really considering what it means?  I want to develop that reliance on God which, each day, trusts Him afresh to provide enough for me.

 

I want to learn to live by faith in God, rather than by my own self-sufficiency.