Today's Chapters Hit a little close to home again.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to remember the good parts of something God delivered you from and forget the reason you needed rescuing in the first place?
That's exactly what happens in Numbers 11.
The Israelites had been miraculously delivered from slavery. God split the Red Sea. He led them by a cloud during the day and fire at night. Every single morning He provided manna from heaven so they would never go hungry.
But after a while they started complaining.
They said they missed Egypt.
They forgot about the slavery, the beatings, and the bondage.
They missed the food.
Fish.
Cucumbers.
Melons.
Leeks.
Onions.
Garlic.
And that line stopped me in my tracks when I read it. They remembered the food but forgot the slavery. This is exactly what complaining does. It rewrites the past and blinds us to the miracles of the present. Complaining has a way of making yesterday look better than it actually was and today look worse than it really is.
And I've caught myself doing the same thing.
Every once in a while I miss California.
My Egypt.
Not the bad parts about it. I don't miss the hurt or the trauma. I don't miss the things God had to pull me out of.
But I miss the food...Oh Gosh I miss the food.
Sometimes I literally dream about it.
Juan Pollo Chicken and Baker's burritos. Del Taco and In-N-Out.....
And for a moment it's easy to start thinking about how great it all was. But if I'm not careful, I forget the whole story.
I forget the pain.
I forget the heaviness.
I forget the things God delivered me from.
Just like Israel did.
They had manna falling from heaven literal daily provision from God and yet all they could see was what they didn't have.
The miracle became normal.
The provision became boring.
The presence of God became background noise.
And once their focus shifted away from the God who was leading them everything started falling apart. The complaining spread through the camp. Moses became overwhelmed. And by the next chapter jealousy had even worked its way into leadership. All because their eyes moved off the One who was guiding them.
I had to stop and check my own heart this morning. How often do we do the same thing?
God brings us out of something hard, something painful, something that once had us bound. But somewhere along the journey we get tired. The wilderness starts to feel long and unending. The manna feels repetitive and old. The miracles start to feel ordinary. And before we realize it, we start romanticizing the very place God rescued us from. We remember the comfort but forget the chains that bound us. We remember the familiar but forget the bondage we were freed from.
Egypt always looks better from a distance.
And the moment our focus shifts away from God leading us, everything starts unraveling.
The journey was never about food or comfort. It was always about following Him.
And as long as He is leading and we are following even the wilderness is still the right place to be.
Even when the menu is simple.
Even when the journey is long.
Because His presence is still the miracle right in front of us.
And I don't want to miss that because I'm too busy remembering Egypt.
But we cant forget that God in his amazing love provided for them even then..Even in the complaining..He promised meat...And On my end God provided In-n-out In Tennessee..I'll take that blessing without complaint and every time I enjoy a Double Double I'll remember how he brought me out of my Egypt and blessed me in the middle of the wilderness...
Love Pastor Mandy
Ark of Hope Ministry
Daily Reading Numbers 11-12
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