They sat complaining in the desert! They wanted food, and then when they got the food they didn't like the food! They wanted a home, but they didn't want to have to fight to get it! They loved God and then they hated Him. They were the epitome of whatever Katy Perry was talking about in that song.
Reading through those chapters of the bible I got annoyed. Those Israelites are quite the whiny bunch!
But then I look in the mirror and realize that the reason I hate them so much is they often look a lot like me. I am the discontented, whiny, hot and cold Israelite.
Why? Because I forget to remember.
Then I noticed that generally, the Israelites would complain in a season of wilderness, but that the season of wilderness was generally right after a season of Providence.
So the ticket to not being a whiny Israelite is to look and remember what God has already done.
For example: When we are tempted to complain about manna, we should remember that God had just rescued us from slavery! He had thrown crazy plagues on the Egyptians and He had split the red sea in two!
Wow! So instead of being flabbergasted by what had just happened. They are focused on the manna in the wilderness. There are hills and valleys in this life, but we make the valleys a lot deeper by not remembering what happened on the hill.
Wildernesses generally directly proceed times of great success.
Take Graduation for example. You are so excited about what God has done, and the amazing education you've just received, and all the awesome memories you've made. Then fast forward a few months and we're complaining because the reality isn't what it's cracked up to be. We're doing our time eating manna while we are waiting for the promised land.
However, we have a choice. We can complain about the manna, where we are right now. Or we can remember all the amazing things God has just done.
I've never been married but I'm sure it's the same way. You have this wonderful special wedding where all your friends and family bless your relationship before God and men, and then you have this amazing vacation where you spend time loving and doting on one another. Then you come home to a little more honeymoon as everything is new and fresh. And then, probably about a year in. All the newness fades. The morning breath is real, the finances are tight, the house is dirty, and you're both busy and stressed. That's when the real marriage starts, and the real beauty is at. But at that moment you can choose to run, or complain that your wife/husband is not who you thought or expected. Or you can remember all that God has already done to get you to that point.
Let alone God has already died for us so that we can be free. He is our true husband who has done all to win us and cherish the church that is his bride.
It's in the wilderness we get to remember what he has already done. That he is already paid the price, and we've been set free. We were enslaved and He moved heaven and hell to rescue us.
So let's stop complaining about the stupid manna, and rejoice that we have the perfect Husband who has set us free!
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