SCRIPTURE: Numbers 11
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. [John 6:48-50]
This is not the first time the people have grumbled, but now the Lord punishes them.
Is He being harsh, or finally saying ‘enough!’
Up until this point the Lord has provided for all their needs – though not their wants.
No doubt about it, this was not a pleasure cruise (have you seen the food on those boats?).
This is an exodus, a journey through a wilderness to a place prepared, flowing with milk and honey.
But instead of looking forward, the people look back, and dream about how good it was in Egypt.
What we want and what we need are very different.
We need radical soul surgery, we want soothing pleasure pampering.
Forget our daily bread, we want more, and we want it now.
If only we had a better job, a bigger home, a fuller fridge, a nice cottage, more money, more clothes, more friends, more gadgets, etc.
No matter what we have, we can always imagine more that we “need” (read “want”).
Try visiting Cuba or Haiti or Juarez, Mexico and compare what we “need” to what they have.
And often they are happier.
What we really need is our self-focussed hearts transformed.
We need hearts that are content, confident in the Lord’s provision and protection.
We need giving, not “gimme” hearts, and that only comes through Jesus.
The reason they died is because they refused to be satisfied.
They refused to trust the Lord.
They refused to appreciate all that He had done for them and given them, and only saw what they didn’t have.
If the Lord were to send fire or a plague on His followers who were discontented and grumbling, how many of us would die?
Have we become so absorbed in what we “need” that we fail to see or appreciate all that we have in Jesus?
It’s an old song with an important message: ‘Count your many blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings see what God has done!’
Try it.
PRAYER:
Lord, I am lacking nothing. I have more than I need. Yet how unsatisfied, or distracted by things I can be. Help me to be content in You!