While they were wandering the desert, the Israelites rose up a cry to God: "But now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (Numbers 11:6).

Back up to verse 4: "Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: 'Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!'”

This came right after God's anger was aroused: "Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the LORD, the fire was quenched. So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them" (Numbers 11:1-3).

We read this and we think, "wow these children of Israel were slow to learn and determined to be complainers! Why were they not afraid of the fire from the Lord coming and burning among them again?"

What about us? Human nature being what it is, what are our complaints? Are we whining about our “manna?"

Do we roll our eyes or turn off our brains when we hear a sermon that covers something we have heard over and over? Do we say in our hearts "when are we going to have something else, something new and exciting?" Are we always seeking new truth to stir up excitement? Do we look at the churches (mixed multitude) around us and wonder why we can’t incorporate some of their stirring music and shorter, glitzy sermons into our way of doing things? Do we look back and miss the entertainment and celebrations in other churches that we came out of?

God knows what is in our hearts and don’t think He is not aware of an attitude of complaining. Our complaining can lead to more than just losing this physical life. If we continue in this attitude, we can lose something far greater: the chance to be with and rule with our Bread from heaven, Jesus Christ. We must cultivate an attitude of thankfulness for all that we have been given and continue to receive.

"So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD" (Deuteronomy 8:3).

"Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' Then they said to Him, 'Lord, give us this bread always.' And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst'" (John 6:31-35).

We have to seek this manna from God daily. We have to rejoice with thanksgiving that God has shown us the simplicity of His truth without all of the spin that has been put on it to lead people away from it. Revelation 12 states that Satan deceives the whole world. We have been called out of that deception—don’t look back and yearn for it and don’t become complacent about the amazing bread we continue to be fed with. We have to have an attitude of thankfulness when we hear a subject spoken on again or a Scripture we have heard a thousand times used again because our brains are wired to need repetition in order to deeply place it into our long term memory.

"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Revelation mentions manna in what the Spirit says to the churches:

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it" (Revelation 2:17).

Every year we are told to examine ourselves and see if we are in the faith before we partake in the Passover that Jesus instituted. We read the same portions of the Bible that go through that night before He became our sacrifice and the Old Testament scriptures that pointed to it.

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life" (Jude 1:20).

Our ministry spends a great deal of time seeking ways to feed us that will stir up our desire to be obedient overcomers and to write on our hearts the word of God. When we have an attitude of thankfulness for all that they do, our hearts are more open to the manna they serve up for us each week and in due season each year.