It is imperative to look at the sell-by date on food we buy from the supermarket. And even after buying a pack of canned foods for instance, and using part of them, it is inexcusable if after some days or months, we pick the rest up, with no inkling of its expiry date, and just use them. As our wild imaginations can fathom, the repercussions of such careless behaviour could be catastrophic – food poisoning, stomach upsets, and the like. The fact that a can of food from a pack was suitable for consumption some days back, does not necessarily make the rest of the pack consumable in the now. They may have exceeded their expiry dates.
The same scenario applies to the Word of God. When God rained manna from above for the Israelites, He cautioned them to only take what was sufficient for that very day. When they disobeyed and took more than was needed, the extra manna had maggots in them at the dawn of a new day, and they stank - Exodus16: 15–20. These stinking manna were supposedly expired. Just like collecting manna on each new day, God wants us to come to His feet at the birth of each day, to receive a Word from Him to strengthen us on that very day. Yesterday’s word may be inappropriate for today, and may not actually solve today’s issues. We daily need brand new messages.
His ways are not our ways, and we cannot assume where He is directing us, or which instructions He has for us. His strategy for tackling seemingly same issues can differ on the scale of time. This can be seen in 2Samuel 15:17-25. The Philistines came up, seeking after David, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. When David inquired from the Lord whether he should go after them, God answered in the affirmative. David obeyed and was victorious. However, for a second time the Philistines came up against David. He did not reach out for God’s old instructions and immediately go after the Philistines in the valley of Rephaim. Instead, he sought God afresh and inquired of what to do. To my amazement, God gave him a different instruction altogether – one of a strategic ambush. As David walked in obedience to this new direction, he triumphed!
We need to walk closely with God, following after Him each day, and inquiring from Him every step of this pilgrimage. His word of direction about a matter or incident can differ from time to time. God’s directions can have a sell-by date. And like the rest of the pack of canned food, we must not simply assume they are edible. We must consult with the manufacturer by glancing at their expiry dates. In the same vein, God being our manufacturer has sell-by and expiry dates for His directions, and needs to be consulted all the time in our walk of life. Just as God later directed the Israelites to eat manna collected on the sixth day on the Sabbath – the seventh day (Exodus 16: 22-24), so will He let us know when we inquire from Him daily, if and when to fall back on a word of direction we received in the past. Till we do this, we will be prone to mishaps and stinking experiences as a result of relying on expired directions, or on messages from the Lord, which have passed their sell-by dates.
Don’t be careless in your walk of faith. Don’t ignore the sell-by and expiry dates! Buy a fresh word from the ovens of Heaven today!
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