But the people continued to sin against Him. In the desert they turned against God Most High. They decided to test God by asking for the food they wanted. Then they spoke against God, saying, "Can God prepare food in the desert? When He hit the rock, water poured out and rivers flowed down. But can He also give us bread? Will He provide His people with meat?" When the Lord heard them, He was very angry. His anger was like fire to the people of Jacob. His anger grew against the people of Israel. They had not believed God and had not trusted Him to save them. But He gave a command to the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven. He rained manna down on them to eat. He gave them grain from heaven. So they ate the bread of angels. (Verses 17-25)
Can God even do what we ask? I mean, we want some pretty big stuff. That's a funny question when I think about it. Of course He can do anything. As He said in Jeremiah 32: Behold, I am the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? The question isn't can He do anything. That is a huge insult to the God of all. Will He? Another question altogether.
It's in the desert they turned against God. There was such a litany of miracles that got the children of Israel out of bondage that I wonder how they could've forgotten. What was it about the desert that made them forget? It's hot. Very hot. Sweaty and tired, caked with sand in their teeth and armpits, walking miles every day, the children of Israel got sick of it. The grinding routine of the pilgrimage grated their sensibilities. Most had only the clothing and shoes they were wearing when they escaped with no Macy's nearby to buy the necessities much less the latest fashions. They had gold they could've used for that but it's useless in the wilderness where you can only rely on God. They were thirsty. There are no streams in the desert. The refreshing of water is a luxury there. But, most importantly, I think, is that they didn't know where it all led. Began to doubt if this promised land Moses spoke of even existed. The children of the twelve tribes listened to each other and to their own self-talk.
I have to say, there's a really good chance I would've gone around Mt.Sinai as many times as they were forced to. The walk to the promised land was actually short. A matter of a few days. It took this wilderness group forty years. The fathers and mothers who remembered the leeks and onions in Egypt had to die off, though they ate the bread of angels and didn't know what they had. But the wilderness is tough. If you've been in it, you know what I mean. Things that once prospered in life dry up. When God was working miracles, everything seemed clear -- your faith and His power. But then things got hard...for some of us, really hard. No refreshing of great spiritual thirst. Just walking in and out of days that make it nearly impossible to get up in the morning. And worst of all, we don't know how it's going to end. Where are we going?
Apparently, that is the perfect time to have faith. To trust against all the odds that the God Who loves you can provide the bread of angels to sustain you in the wilderness you trudge through. Don't say, "Can God even get me out of this mess?" Your Father doesn't like that kind of talk. If we have walked with Him for very long at all we have wondrous things to share about all He's done for us. Stop and think about that. If we are in the desert, He knows that. Why? Because He's there too, this God Who will never leave us or forsake us. So we are to sit down in the hot sand and think for a minute about Him. All He's done. All He's promised. All He's capable of. Stir up our most holy faith and believe God for...anything. God loves that! His weary children asking for a drink and knowing His Father's heart will not deny us one. Handing Him our hunger so He can provide in such a new way that we must ask as the Jewish tribes of old, "What is this?" Manna. They put the "what is this" up to their mouths and munched the bread from heaven.
I remember in 2006-2007 my life hit a substantial wilderness when my constant question of God was: "What is this all about? Where are we going?" In answer, my Father told me to trust His love for me. In response, I daily said hundreds of times: "I will be all right because my Father loves me." Many days I didn't feel that so much as I declared it. Knew it was true, but didn't feel all warm inside with it. Trusting Him who can do anything. Though I didn't see a victorious way out, He did. And amazed me, as He always does. He showed me that I need to trust His love for me in the wilderness just as surely as I do in the good times. And it's harder in the wilderness. He knows that. Perhaps He's watching to see if we will decide to trust Him to save us. In the sweat and work of it, will we look to Him to lead us on? Because when things are good it's hard to see His power...or even look for it. But in the desert, where there is no water, He might just strike a bone dry rock and bring enough water to quench your thirsty soul.
Can God even do what we ask? I mean, we want some pretty big stuff. That's a funny question when I think about it. Of course He can do anything. As He said in Jeremiah 32: Behold, I am the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? The question isn't can He do anything. That is a huge insult to the God of all. Will He? Another question altogether.
It's in the desert they turned against God. There was such a litany of miracles that got the children of Israel out of bondage that I wonder how they could've forgotten. What was it about the desert that made them forget? It's hot. Very hot. Sweaty and tired, caked with sand in their teeth and armpits, walking miles every day, the children of Israel got sick of it. The grinding routine of the pilgrimage grated their sensibilities. Most had only the clothing and shoes they were wearing when they escaped with no Macy's nearby to buy the necessities much less the latest fashions. They had gold they could've used for that but it's useless in the wilderness where you can only rely on God. They were thirsty. There are no streams in the desert. The refreshing of water is a luxury there. But, most importantly, I think, is that they didn't know where it all led. Began to doubt if this promised land Moses spoke of even existed. The children of the twelve tribes listened to each other and to their own self-talk.
I have to say, there's a really good chance I would've gone around Mt.Sinai as many times as they were forced to. The walk to the promised land was actually short. A matter of a few days. It took this wilderness group forty years. The fathers and mothers who remembered the leeks and onions in Egypt had to die off, though they ate the bread of angels and didn't know what they had. But the wilderness is tough. If you've been in it, you know what I mean. Things that once prospered in life dry up. When God was working miracles, everything seemed clear -- your faith and His power. But then things got hard...for some of us, really hard. No refreshing of great spiritual thirst. Just walking in and out of days that make it nearly impossible to get up in the morning. And worst of all, we don't know how it's going to end. Where are we going?
Apparently, that is the perfect time to have faith. To trust against all the odds that the God Who loves you can provide the bread of angels to sustain you in the wilderness you trudge through. Don't say, "Can God even get me out of this mess?" Your Father doesn't like that kind of talk. If we have walked with Him for very long at all we have wondrous things to share about all He's done for us. Stop and think about that. If we are in the desert, He knows that. Why? Because He's there too, this God Who will never leave us or forsake us. So we are to sit down in the hot sand and think for a minute about Him. All He's done. All He's promised. All He's capable of. Stir up our most holy faith and believe God for...anything. God loves that! His weary children asking for a drink and knowing His Father's heart will not deny us one. Handing Him our hunger so He can provide in such a new way that we must ask as the Jewish tribes of old, "What is this?" Manna. They put the "what is this" up to their mouths and munched the bread from heaven.
I remember in 2006-2007 my life hit a substantial wilderness when my constant question of God was: "What is this all about? Where are we going?" In answer, my Father told me to trust His love for me. In response, I daily said hundreds of times: "I will be all right because my Father loves me." Many days I didn't feel that so much as I declared it. Knew it was true, but didn't feel all warm inside with it. Trusting Him who can do anything. Though I didn't see a victorious way out, He did. And amazed me, as He always does. He showed me that I need to trust His love for me in the wilderness just as surely as I do in the good times. And it's harder in the wilderness. He knows that. Perhaps He's watching to see if we will decide to trust Him to save us. In the sweat and work of it, will we look to Him to lead us on? Because when things are good it's hard to see His power...or even look for it. But in the desert, where there is no water, He might just strike a bone dry rock and bring enough water to quench your thirsty soul.
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