Don't Eat the Bread
Lessons Learned From Expired Faith
(How a little green fuzz in the pantry can preach to your soul)
I love homemade bread. There’s just nothing like it—the smell that fills the kitchen, the crackle when you slice into it, that perfect balance of soft inside and crusty outside. Honestly, it’s a little slice of heaven… for about 36-48 hours.
That’s it. That’s the window. After that, you can practically hear it start to harden. By day three, it’s halfway to becoming a brick. And if you leave it sitting on the counter for five days? Congratulations—you’ve got yourself a science experiment. Green fuzz, weird little mystery spots, and a smell that makes you question every life choice that brought you to this moment.
It’s not that homemade bread is bad—it’s actually amazing. But it’s not designed to last forever. It’s meant to be enjoyed fresh, the day you make it.
And honestly? Our faith can be the same way.
Yesterday’s Bread Won’t Feed You Today
Fresh faith is like fresh bread—warm, nourishing, alive. But here’s the thing: if we try to live today off of yesterday’s portion, it starts to go stale. And if we leave it sitting too long—unopened, unused—it can grow the spiritual equivalent of green fuzz.
The Israelites learned this the hard way in Exodus 16. God provided manna—bread from heaven—every single morning. It was fresh, it was perfect, and it was exactly what they needed for that day. But He gave them one clear instruction: “Don’t store it up for tomorrow.”
Some of them still tried to hold on to yesterday’s manna, but it never worked. By the next morning, it had gone bad. Like, maggot bad! Exodus 16:20 says, “But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. By then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.”
The only exception was the sixth day of the week. On that day, God commanded them to gather twice as much, because no manna would fall on the Sabbath. Miraculously, the manna they saved overnight for the Sabbath did not spoil or grow maggots (Exodus 16:24).
God was showing them something powerful:
Faith has to be fresh. Yesterday’s portion was never meant to carry today’s need.
Obedience brings provision. The manna spoiled unless God specifically said, “Gather twice as much.”
And that’s exactly what Jesus was pointing back to when He said in Matthew 4:4:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
You and I can’t survive on bread alone—physical or spiritual. We need the fresh Word, fresh presence, and fresh strength of God every single day.
If I’m Honest…
If I’m honest, I’ve had my moments in my life of slacking here. Not where my faith was gone or my prayers were decades old—but in those seasons when life was too full, ministry was too busy, or I was just stretched thin. I let my time with the Lord slide into the “later” category. And let’s be real—laterrarely came.
Every single time, I felt it. My patience wore thin, my peace ran short, my strength leaked out.
It’s like trying to live on day-old bread—it looks fine on the outside, but it can’t really nourish you on the inside. That’s exactly how it felt. I wasn’t fueling myself with fresh manna.
You may be wondering, So how did you change that?
I got intentional. Because relationship is always two-sided. If I say I love the Lord with all my heart, then making space to connect with Him daily isn’t optional—it’s essential. I mean, I wouldn’t wake up and “forget” to talk to my husband all day long, right? Love shows up. And the same is true with the Lord.
That’s where fresh bread, fresh faith comes in.
Lamentations 3:22–23 (NLT) reminds us: “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
If His mercies are brand-new every single morning, then my faith should be renewed every single morning too. Not out of striving, but out of relationship. Not out of guilt, but out of hunger. Hunger for the One who meets me daily with mercy, love, and strength.
Fresh bread. Fresh faith. That’s how I want to live.
3 Ways to Keep It Fresh
Gather Daily Manna – Open your Bible every day. Even if it’s a few verses, let it speak to today’s heart.
Pray Like It’s the First Time – Not routine, but real conversation with the Lord who’s listening.
Look for Today’s Testimony – Ask yourself: “Where did I see God move today?” Don’t let your God-stories only live in the past.
Monday Morning Truth
I tossed that moldy bread without hesitation—there was no way I was going to slice it, scrape it, and pretend it was fine.
And you my friend, toss your moldy bread you’ve been holding onto-the stuff that’s hard, stales and can’t feed you anymore. Ask God for fresh bread from Heaven. Let Him serve you something warm from His oven—straight from His Word to your heart.
Because yesterday’s bread might have been amazing… but today’s bread is what will keep you alive.
Happy Monday, friends. Time to grab some fresh bread.
Thank you Tracie. Very timely and just what I needed. Blessings 🙏
Yhank you for the encouraging Word, my friend!!