Today I have a couple of things I would like to write about but I keep coming back to God’s faithfulness. How amazing when we think about how he was faithful to Joseph even though he never saw his homeland again but his bones were carried there by the Israelites who, through His faithfulness provided a way for them to leave Egypt. He became angry with them a few times but He always provided for them. When they needed food He provided food, when they needed water he provided water, and when they needed to know where to go, he provided a God made GPS! Exodus 16:11-15 “The Lord said to Moses, (12)I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God’. (13)That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. (14) When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. (15) When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.’” This satisfied them for awhile but what happens when you eat, you get thirsty. In Exodus 17:2 “So they quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses replied, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?’ In verse 4 Moses cries out to the Lord, ‘What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ God once again is faithful to a people, who are being unfaithful, verse 5, “The Lord answered Moses, ‘Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. (6) I will stand there before you by the rock of Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink. So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. (7) And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’. And about that God made GPS, Exodus 13:21-22 “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. (22)”Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”
Now I can be quick to question why the Israelites were such grumblers when the LORD was providing, but wait, do I do the same thing. This is an age old problem, one that began with the taking of the fruit. The sin of wanting more. Eve, wanted to know more, Cain wanted more praise and recognition from God, David wanted more of a woman, and the list goes on. Today we have super sized French fries, and huge drinks to satisfy our “more” desire. I had never thought of the concept of ‘more’ being a sin until I heard a sermon about it at Redemption Church in Tempe, Arizona, but the more I look at it, it is very evident throughout time. But, we have a faithful God who loves us and is patient with us. Are we patient with Him and His timing? Are we allowing Him to lead us, just as the cloud and fire never took the left its place in front of the people, we should never try to step out of place when we are following the Lord. Paul was convinced that God would be faithful in completing the good work in the church at Philippi when he states in Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
If you are discouraged today, stop and thank about how God has led you through time and time again. Thank Him for His faithfulness in guiding you in the right path. When we seek Him with all our heart, we will have no need to grumble and complain because we will see that we have a God who is faithful.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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