“But I don’t like …” is a phrase sometimes heard when certain foods are set on the dinner table. I am prepared to eat what is placed before me, with thanksgiving. Do have preferences? I sure do, but early in life I was trained to eat what was set in front of me and to do so without complaint! Now, I must be honest about salmon and tomatoes. If those were on the menu, I would simply choose to remain hungry.
Are you prepared
to receive what God has prepared for you,
with thanksgiving, so that you can live in His peace?
IF we desire
to know a deep and intimate relationship with God,
IF we want to experience the ‘abundant life’ which Jesus offers,
IF we would be most effective in our Christian service -
we must be willing to surrender our preferences and accept His plan.
There is no better illustration of the toxicity of willfulness than the experience of the people of Israel during their pilgrimage from Egypt to the Promised Land. By miraculous provision, God delivered them from slavery and led them. Repeatedly, they found His provision – in circumstance and even in daily food – unacceptable.
When they were hungry in the wilderness, the LORD provided perfect food. All they had to do was gather it up from the ground each morning. Listen to their response - “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember all the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic that we wanted. But now our appetites are gone, and day after day we have nothing to eat but this manna!” (Numbers 11:4-6, NLT)
Their repeated refusals to accept what God gave to them caused them to sin in multiple ways and their failures met with terrible consequences. They became faithless. They rebelled against Moses’ leadership. They experienced God’s judgment, and many died. An entire generation ended up dying during the 40 years of wilderness wandering because they refused to follow God into the Promised Land the first time!
The tragedy of their sin led them to turn back to God, but too late to avoid the consequence of their ingratitude and rebellion.
The book of
Hebrews alludes to those stories of refusal of God’s leading and encourages us
to choose differently. "God’s promise of entering his
place of rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you
might fail to get there. For this Good News—that God has prepared
a place of rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did
them no good because they didn’t believe what God told them.
For only we who believe can enter his place of rest. … So
God’s rest is there for people to enter. But those who formerly heard the Good
News failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set
another time for entering his place of rest, and that time is today. … So there
is a special rest still waiting for the people of God." (Hebrews 4:1-9, NLT)
As we begin this new week, let’s present ourselves humbly to God as His grateful children. Not every situation will be exactly as we would want it to be. We will find ourselves presented with challenges to our faith, with developments that are hard to accept, with choices in which we know what is right but not what we want to do. May we have the faith and courage to walk in faithfulness so that we may enter the fullness of His provision, with gratitude.
The word from the Word puts the focus in the right place. Meditate on this truth today. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:23-25, NIV)
Lord, find us grateful and accepting. Amen
________
(Video of this blog at this link)
