Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is call Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
The context of this section of Scripture is very important. The Israelites just came from the Red Sea that had been parted by the power of God so that the Israelites could cross it. Just before that, the Israelites had seen God send plague after plague on Egypt so that Pharaoh would let the Israelites go. All of this had just happened a couple chapters before this. Then the moment the Israelites get thirsty they complain and grumble against Moses and God. How ungrateful were they? That's the question I asked when I read this. But I soon found a better question to ask myself, "How ungrateful am I?"
Like the Israelites, God has performed miracles for us and has saved us from our sins forever. He also continually blesses us each day. Yet, when we find something wrong, what do we do? We complain, either internally or vocally, about what went wrong. Ever order some food at a restaurant and when it finally gets to you it was put together poorly or it was done wrong? What did you do when that happened. Odds are you complained about what was wrong and forgot about the fact that you are blessed enough to go to a restaurant and order anything at all. I've done this and I know I'm not alone. But what happens when these little complaints happen again and again? As we complain, about more and more things, we see more and more things to complain about. We continually add on until we are complaining about every little thing that doesn't exactly the way we want it to. Soon we become obsessed and start doing everything we can to make life go the way we want it to. We start storing up for ourselves on earth and making earthly things our purpose. Eventually, we forget all about the word "blessing" and only know the word "mine." This sounds like a long and lengthy process that takes time to take control of our lives, especially the way it's written. It's not at all a lengthy process. It's a quick and destructive one. It took 3 days of this past week for me to prove that. It started with a lost book, then a broken ring, then I couldn't get any of the food I wanted, then I had to miss out on being with some friends, and so on until I was at the point I described above. I quickly became selfish. That's the scary thing about this, it's easy to forget the good and to focus on the bad. It's natural to do that. So how do we make complaining unnatural?
The true answer is peace. You obtain peace through 2 changes of thought. 1st, you acknowledge that God is the Great Provider. Not just that he provides, but that He is the Provider. When you acknowledge this, you see that you have no control over anything and that it is God who gives you what you have. 2nd, is to be thankful for what God has given you. If you spend time being thankful for what He gives, you focus less on what you don't have and what doesn't go your way. These give you peace because you realize that none of the things you have are in your control. You can let go and let God do what He wants. And if you remember that He is Love and what He has done for you already, mainly Jesus Christ's Loving sacrifice on the cross, then you can see that His will for you is the best thing for you. This peace finally brings you contentment. You are able to truly "go with the flow." You see that God is in control of what you have in this world and are able to live with an open hand. You are able to stay true to God in any situation, whether you end up homeless or a billionaire. You trust God control and Judgement. Now I'm saying it's wrong to want something, but you need to have the right motives behind wanting it. If it is for yourself to serve yourself for your own pleasure, odds say that you probably won't get it. But if you see the way something can serve others, serve God, and/or further God's Kingdom and ask for that reason, God will provide for that service. It doesn't always mean you doing it, but as far as the act of service itself, God's will is done as He sees fit.
The thing about obtaining this peace and contentment is that it is what's hard to do. It goes against our nature of "mine." But it's worth the struggle to reach it. You find you worry less, you get less angry and frustrated, you feel closer to God, and you see things more positively. You pray differently, and you see just how good He is. Reaching this point is a struggle, but a worthwhile one. The ability to see just how blesses you are by God is enough, in fact, it's a whole new thing to be thankful for.
We are like the Israelites more than we think. But we need to do our best to change that. Not just for our future, but because of what God did in the past. He died for us with the pain of all sin weighing on Him. Who are we that we should be complaining about a sandwich that has mustard instead of mayonnaise? If that sounds silly to you, look at what you complain about. I did, and I stopped laughing pretty quickly. Start the change right now. Look around you and you will be able to find at least 10 things to be thankful for. If anything, you'll find more. It changes everything.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
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