Numbers 21:4-6
"Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.' So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died."
This was the passage we looked at in our ABF on Sunday morning. I'm so grateful that God knew just what I needed. Our teacher noted how the Israelites became ungrateful for the manna God had blessed them with. The very thing God was using to meet their needs became something they loathed. Our teacher then asked us how we were like the Israelites. What things have we loathed that God has used to meet our needs?
For me, over the past few weeks, it has been our apartment. Over the weekend we had the opportunity to stay with a family from our church - to watch their teens while the parents attended a marriage conference. We had such a great time, and I loved the opportunity to get to stay in a home and enjoy having space, having more than one bathroom, and having satellite tv (to name a few). However, as the weekend went on, instead of being grateful for these extra blessings, my heart grew discontent because God had not chosen to bless us with those things. Instead of being grateful for the housing God had given us (our apartment), I was coveting the housing He had provided for our friends.
As I sat through our ABF I realized that I was just like the children of Israel - loathing the apartment that God has given us, instead of seeing it as the blessing it is. God brought to mind the recent events in Japan and my heart was convicted again. At least I have housing - it hasn't been turned to rubble by an earthquake, or swept away by a tsunami. God is so good. I'm so thankful for the ways He continues to use His Word and His Spirit to convict my heart of sin on a daily basis. By His grace I'm putting off discontentment and putting on a grateful, content heart today.
In what ways have you loathed the manna God has given you?
1 comments:
I was thinking how my son has become an Israelite and how I let him become that way when our family has struggled so much. The other day he complained that his Aunt Lauren had cut the grapes in half (we accidentally bought seeded grapes) instead of being thankful for the grapes in the first place. I became rather curt with him and told him that if he didn't like how his meals were prepared, he could make them himself! See? I'm still working on anger issues. ;) But how often we forget to thank God for our blessings when He could've chose to not give them to us at all. (Is it okay for me to still hold out for Sean to become a "Trevor"?)
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