Bedtime Blogging………
Because I should DEFINITELY be sleeping but I have plenty to say….. uhmmm…. type.
Mmmkay, in the book of Numbers, chapter eleven, the Bible tells of how the Children of Israel complained about not having meat to eat. They began reminiscing on how, back in
Egypt, they had all kinds of good stuff to eat but now that they were following God, all they had was manna (what God provided for them to eat each day). It’s as if they were saying, “is this all you got for us God? Is this the best you can do???” Now, how many of us know that, sometimes, when we get in uncomfortable situations, although they are GOOD FOR US, we start thinking of a time when things were easier….. “better”; a time that was actually destroying us (just me? Mmmkay). Anyhoo, the Bible says in verse 1, “And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost part of the camp.” The Bible then goes on to tell us that “the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched.” (verse 2).
This lets me know that they knew they served a God that heard their cries and could answer their prayers but instead, they complained. Now, I’m guilty of this exact thing. I remember when God had me “waiting” for Him to place me in a place of employment. Now, I said “place me” because God had me in a season of being still and waiting on Him to tell me where I should be. During this time, it got rough, I didn’t know what would happen as far as my bills and well being were concerned because, well, I didn’t have a job. Of course, I prayed, but I am also guilty of complaining. Instead of asking God for provision, I complained about not having any. Now, I did learn my lesson, and I didn’t complain the entire time, but in the beginning, I sure did. I remembered past jobs (not just the one I’d recently left) and how I was living “okay” and how a couple jobs prior, I was making pretty good money and if I’d never left there, I’d probably be making more (NAH…. I needed to leave there!). **MIND GAMES**
Now, I know that God removed me from those places for reasons that were beneficial to my life. I reflected and remembered the state of the situation that I was in before leaving those jobs. I know for a fact, that if I’d still been working at some of those places, my life would probably be in shambles, but I allowed my thinking to “take me there”, just like the Children of Israel. They allowed their current situation to cause them to desire what they’d been delivered from. When you are delivered from something, that means you
needed to be out of it, it wasn’t good for you. In Egypt, they were SLAVES! They were beat, scared, and living under a ruler that hated them. They watched as God parted the Red Sea and allowed them to cross AND THEN drowned their enemies. But yet, their level of discomfort on the way to their PROMISED LAND seemed to overshadow how terrible their previous circumstances were.
That’s right, they were heading to a place of their own, a place that God promised them and they were so distracted by what they didn’t have, that they forgot where they were going. They complained about the provision that God made for them, the manna was a provision to sustain them along their journey, and they expressed that, to them, it wasn’t good enough. Like, no matter where they stopped or camped out, manna was waiting for them in the morning. But, for them THAT WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH! They allowed their circumstances to cause them to be ungrateful. This made the Lord angry….. and with good reason. I KNOW that God has been angry with me before, for despising where He was taking me by longing to be where I WAS. And I’ve had to repent plenty of times for it. We must be careful not to allow where we are in our journey to cause us to miss where we were. Often, when times are rough, we only recall the “good things” about our terrible past. We gotta stop that! The past is the past and we need to leave it there, especially if it was no good for us. Because of their attitude toward life, the Children of Israel were made to wander for 40 YEARS! JESUS!!! Yes this came a bit later but I dare say that the attitude that caused them to miss the food in Egypt was also the same attitude that caused them not to enter Canaan when God instructed them to. See how that initial attitude of complaining can carry over into a completely different area of life??? They were wanting better and when God gave it to them freely, they were afraid to go and get it.
So, all I’m trying to say is, be grateful that you aren’t where you started out. Be grateful that God is leading you into YOUR PROMISED LAND. And allow Him to make provision however He sees fit and know that it is far better than anything you could ever dream or imagine.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9
Okay, signing out and going to sleep.
Love y’all (I really do),
Ms. A.M.White