Numbers 11:1-23; Mark 14:12-21; Psalms 52:1-7; Proverbs 15:11
OT: “Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the LORD, the fire was quenched… Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” …Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased.” (Numbers 11:1-2, 4-6, 10 NKJV)
God is pleased by a grateful heart. On the other hand, ungratefulness displeases Him. God had rescued the Israelites out of hard and cruel bondage. He saved them from the hand of Egypts army by parting the Red Sea and allowing them to pass through. He had provided fresh water for them in the middle of the desert, and He was daily providing a miraculous provision of food to sustain them in the middle of the barren wilderness. Instead of being amazed at God and thankful for His continuing provision, all they wanted was the food that they had as slaves in Egypt. They would rather be enslaved and treated harshly by the Egyptians than to “suffer” through that dreadful manna day after day after day. They wanted their preferences instead of God’s provision. They couldn’t recognize the miraculous because they were blinded by ungratefulness. How many times do we miss the miraculous things God is doing in our lives because His provision doesn’t cater to our preferences? How often are we unwilling to obey the Lord because we may miss out on our delicacies? In the midst of this quarantine, we have been stripped of some pleasures. Are we grateful for God’s continued provision or are we complaining because things aren’t as we like? Lord, by Your grace, as I satisfy myself in You, produce in me a grateful heart that is content in any season.
Jamie Hicks 