Complaining. Ugh.

As I'm journeying through the O.T. I'm just overwhelmed with the Word of God and how it still relates to us, to ME today!

I'm all the way into.... Numbers! haha I know, if you've been reading my blog, you know that really... I have taken a LONG time to get here. But I love spending plenty of time reading and then journaling. I do not want to rush through it! (Unless they're 'begetting', of course). LOL There's so much that the Lord spoke to me through His Word this morning.

The first is, in the entire chapter 10, there's an awful lot of complaining going on. Is it ever good to complain? Complaining leads to results but are the results always what you had hoped for? For me, no, they are not.

The Isrealites complain about their situation, their circumstances. I'm so glad I never do that! LOL kidding! (Let me tell you, this was totally convicting.) I highly dislike compaining but I'm guilty of it, for sure. God REALLY does not like it. Why do you suppose that is? Because we are not trusting Him? I think it's mostly because we are just not letting Him be God in our lives, our everything! Well, let's see what He thought about it... In Numbers 11:2, after hearing them complain, it says, " His anger was kindled and the fire burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp." So how did He feel about it? Well, He wasn't excited- that's for sure!! O, and by the way, they're "circumstances" are much better than being slaves in Egypt! Well.... you'd think they were!

Now, the 600,000 plus Isrealites have been miraculously blessed with manna, food from heaven, but of course, that is not good enough either. They wanted meat! And we can't really blame the Israelites, can we? Would we not do the same thing? I know I get sick of the same food after 2 meals, maybe 3 at the very most... (and that's if it's SO GOOD tasting)! They were remembering the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and flavorful fish that they at least had in Egypt to eat freely of. Does this make you smile? Does it seem a little ridiculous? Well, I'm still feeling a little convicted about my own life complaints.

So, let's look at manna. Just because I like food and love to learn. :) It says it is like coriander (cilantro seed), and it's appearance like bdellium (an oily gum or a white pearl; a valuable mineral). Mmm tasty. So.. was it kind of chewy? LOL They would gather it, grind it and make cakes with it. And I'm just guessing that these cakes don't have cream cheese frosting! ;) So, OK, they SHOULD be grateful but I could see how the same old thing to eat could get old.

And then of course, their leader, Moses, complains about them complaining. haha Seriously? This is so much like life now. Plus he wonders how in the world God could possibly find enough meat to give them! Moses wants to know, would they have to kill all of their animals? Or should all the fish from the sea be gathered together for them? (Remember there are over 600,000 of them!)

God listens to him and actually answers him with meat. It says, "Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat...You shall eat not one day, nor 10 days, nor 20 days, but a whole month..."

I have to be honest. When I got to this verse I was like, "Are you kidding me? He's going to reward them by giving in to their complaining?" Well, not totally. (wink wink) It's always good to read the whole context! The rest of that verse says "...until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you..."

So, Moses asked, where will this meat come from, Lord? That would be just too many people for you to feed! How is that possible? "And the Lord said to Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not."

So do you want to know what happened next? O you probably already know. But go ahead and read through it. Numbers 11:31-35.

God is so much smarter than we are. LOL He knows what we need. He knows what is good for us. Can you believe He even knows the appropriate time for the appropriate action? He can even feed 600,000 people! Maybe you're thinking, of course He can because He did that kind of stuff all of the time in the Bible. Have you forgotten? How has he shown His power in your life? He can even help you get through the month's budget. He can even get you through a hard winter. He can even give you patience, or the tools for it during those hard days with the kids. He can even guide you in your relationships. He can even be near you when you're afraid of what's to come.

Are you listening, Kristin? Are you listening to? Is there something that you complain about too much? Give it to the Lord. That is my desire anyway. When something comes up that seems so difficult to bear, to go through, I want to see it through His eyes. Not to see myself as the victim of a circumstance, but as a willing vessel for the Lord to use.

I am SO thankful for the hope that I have in Him. I can complain, to my friends, my husband. I can even complain to the Lord but will it give me the results I'm looking for? How did it work out for those 600,000? Rest in him. Realize that He wants you to to trust Him! Instead of complaining, find a reason to be truly grateful.