Today’s Bible Reading: NUMBERS 11:1-13:33
Numbers 11:4-6 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."
We all at times are dissatisfied. We are disillusioned with our direction. We are repulsed by our relationships. We are frustrated with our finances. We are disgusted with our decisions. We become sick of our spirituality. We can’t find contentment. This drives us to complain rather than change.
The children of Israel had pleaded for food. God provided. It was gratefully gathered for a season, but soon led to griping. They rejected His rations. What He furnished they frowned upon. They craved something else. They yearned for yesterday. They remembered the delight of the fish, the fruits and the vegetables, but forgot the disparity of their bondage. Their thoughts turn to what they had, not what they have. They looked back to meals they had, rather than manna at hand. Their gratitude turned to grumbling. What God provided was despised. They were discontent with God’s direction for their life.
We are like them. There are moments where we are dissatisfied with God. Our relationship is stagnant. Our walk is stumbling. Our prayers are silenced. Our joy is squelched. We have lost the desire to be in His word. We don’t want to follow His will. What He provides no longer satisfies. We want to give up and go back. Like the Israelites, “our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."
Their solution was to complain, but ours should be contentment. Theirs was to grumble, but ours should be gratitude. God’s provision should lead us to praise.
Paul had been through many more hardship then a simply distaste for manna. His life was marked by misery. He was beaten by soldiers, battled by shipwrecks, bitten by snakes, and bound by shackles (2 Cor 11:23-29). He encountered hunger, hardship and humiliation. Yet he didn’t grumble or complain about God’s path or God’s provisions for him. He chose contentment over complaining. He decided for gratefulness over griping. He proclaimed, “for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:11-13) Paul’s contentment was centered in his confidence in the Lord who strengthen him. Perhaps we should seek to follow His example. Rather than be dissatisfied with our “manna” we should delight in our Master who provides it. We should be content, not complaining.
Today consider all that the Lord has provided for you. Rejoice in His goodness and grace poured out abundantly in your life through your relationship with Christ. Beware of times when you will be tempted to grumble and complain about your “lot” in life, times when you will find yourself disillusioned and dissatisfied with God’s path for you. Take a moment to replace your grumbling with gratitude and your discontentment with the delight of knowing your Savior. Like Paul, ask the Lord to center your contentment in Him, affirming that in whatever situation you will be content. So, barricade complaining and be content.
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