God Knows What We Need (KidQuest -- October 16)

While His people were in the wilderness, God knew what they needed. He sent down manna (which literally means, “What is it?”) to sustain the Israelites. According to the Bible, manna had the sweet taste of honey. Numbers describes how the Israelites could grind the manna and pound it into cake. He could have given them anything to eat, but by His mercy, He provided a delicious, rich food. They were commanded to collect only what they each needed for that day. God challenged His people to be fully dependent on His provision.

Many years later, during Jesus’ earthly ministry, He continuously refers to himself as the “bread of life,” pointing back to the manna God provided in the wilderness. Take, for instance, this passage from John: “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:48–51).

In the desert, God provided for Moses and the Israelites’ physical sustenance. He gave them what was needed to live on earth. However, Jesus provides us with something much greater: life eternal. God calls us to be people who are wholly dependent on Him each day. He asks us to be children who trust in Him, believing that He knows what we need.