On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
- Joshua 5:10-12

God’s people have a rich history of seeing his provision.

When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, they celebrated a special meal on the eve of God’s leading them to freedom. For the next 40 years the Lord took care of them during their desert wandering, feeding them with manna every morning. They would walk around the camp and collect enough of this “bread from heaven” to feed them for the day.

But that was about to change.

After they crossed the Jordan and entered into the Promised Land, they celebrated the Passover to remember God’s great deliverance. This was their first time celebrating Passover in 39 years. And they were celebrating it by eating food sourced locally in the Promised Land. How exciting! But then the manna stopped.

Imagine what it would be like to be in your twenties or thirties when this happened. All your life you’ve started your day by gathering manna outside your tent. You’ve always known where you next meal was coming from. And now it was over.

Professor and leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith famously wrote: “What got you here won’t get you there.” That was true for the Israelites and it’s often true for us. The same God walks with us from season to season but the way we see his provision changes.

We can have gratitude for how the Lord’s provided for us in the past (as seen in the Israelites Passover celebration) while at the same time stepping courageously into the new season he has for us (as seen in the Israelites’ eating the food of the land and ceasing to search for manna).

How have you seen God’s provision shift over the years? When have you struggled to adjust to the change? How has adjusting to the new ways God is providing for you turned out to be a blessing to you?