Stubborness and Grace

Today in my reading though the bible chronologically I am in the book of Numbers. It is the story of over 600,000 Israelites trying to make their way to the "promise land" of Canaan that God promised to them after He delivered them from Egypt. You really should read it yourself but here is the Spark Notes version....

People oppressed in Egypt and made to be slaves. They cry out to God to save them. He hears them and delivers them out of that horrible existence they were in. He leads them to the desert on the way to a land of their very own that He promised them. He feeds them and makes sure their clothes don't wear out. He provides wise leaders for them on their journey. He, Himself, is among them like no other time before or since. He shows them the fruit of the land they will inhabit. They get scared, cause they don't trust Him to conquer the people that already inhabit that land (they were really BIG!) 600,000 people get tired of waiting for someplace to call home. They get tired of not having meat and fish to eat. Wahh Wahh. Wahh......

The God of the Universe who has preformed countless miracles and lives among these people has promised them a land that has grapes so big 2 men have to carry them and was flowing with milk and honey. A land they should be eager to possess and yet they didn't trust Him to give them what He promised. Instead they chose to grumble and complain.

So, they made God a little hot under the collar and, amongst other things, were condemned to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, until all the grumbling, ungrateful people were dead and the new generation were able to posses the land. Of all those people, only 2 (Joshua and Caleb) were allowed to live and enter the promiseland.

How much are we like the Israelites? How many times do we grumble and complain when we get wrapped up in the circumstances we can see around us and discount what God may have planned for us in the future. He gives us manna, but we want meat. He shows us the wonderful things He has for our future but we complain that it is just to hard and don't trust His plan to get us there.

After reading how God dealt with them, I am reminded afresh that He is WAY BIGGER than we allow Him to be in our minds and in our lives most of the time. He is God and deserves not only our love but our awe, respect and even fear. I mean, He got so fed up with the complaining that He just sent fire down from heaven and burned people up. Nuff said!

So, today I am thankful for Jesus and His sacrifice for me on the cross and the grace that that provided for me when I am grumbling and complaining about my circumstances. If not for Jesus, I would have probably been burned up with fire a long time ago!

So even as I find myself through deserts of my own making due to poor choices, I give thanks for God's love and provision for me. I ask Him to teach me what I need to learn and trust that He will take me to the place He has laid out for my future and will conquer any giants that stand in the way through His power and might.

How about you?