Patience.
Ah, that illusive trait. I do not posses it naturally. You? I try. I really do. Most days, anyway. And I'm successful. Most days, anyway. I'm a much more patient person than I used to be, thankfully. I've even been praised by my (former) elderly clients and their families for being so incredibly patient and understanding. Friends would tell me I was a patient mother when my kids were growing up. My kids, bless 'em, knew otherwise. Hubby too.
Now, with all the rich wisdom that comes with age and time, I look back and wonder why was I such an impatient person? Why would I get angry if things didn't happen the moment I thought they should? Why was I in such a rush for this or that?
I'm reading through the Old Testament right now. I'm in the Book of Numbers. If you're not familiar with the Old Testament, it's the story of God's people, the Israelites. It's about their roots, their escape from Egypt where they were enslaved, and their journey to the land God promised to give them. And in reading their story, you can't help but come to one firm conclusion:
The Israelites were some of THE most impatient people ever created!
Just today, I read Chapter 21. They're headed to the Promised Land. God has delivered them from Pharaoh in a spectacular way, with plagues and clouds of fire and a sea actually parting so they could walk through on dry land. He's provided food when they whined about hunger. He provided water in a dry and dusty desert. Most recently, He gave them victory over their enemies. Look what verses 1-3 say:
"When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. Then Israel made this vow to the LORD: "If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities." The LORD listened to Israel's plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns."
A little backstory to understand what's going on: God commanded the Israelites not to accept the gods in the lands they came into. So, when the Israelites defeated the Canaanites, they had to destroy everything because of the pagan gods and the pagan worship that had taken place in those cities.
God answered their prayers. Again. He delivered them from their enemies. Again. You would think they'd be the most grateful people on earth, right?
Wrong. Here are verses 4 -5:
"They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient along the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food."
The people grew impatient. Wow.
Are you waiting for something God has promised you? Do you feel like you're wandering in the desert? Trust me, I'm right there with you. And I've been more like the Israelites at times than I care to admit. If you keep reading in Numbers 21:6 you see that God didn't put up with their childish temper tantrum. He sent venomous snakes among them. Eeek!
The old saying is true: Patience is a virtue. And virtue is better than venom any day! I think I'll be patient today. You?
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Showing posts with label Numbers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Numbers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Promised Land or the Desert: Your choice
Forty years.
That sounds like a long time, doesn't it? Next month I'll be 46 years old. It seems like a reeeeeeally long time ago that I was only 6 years of age!! First grade, for crying out loud!
Or think about a baby born today. Seems like a lifetime away that they'll reach their 40th birthday!
Forty years.
That's how long the Israelites had to wander around the desert before they were allowed into the Promised Land. Can you imagine camping for forty years?! In the desert??
The real kicker is that the Promised Land was not far away. It wasn't across an ocean or on a different continent. In fact, some of the Israelites even saw the Promised Land and scoped it out. Remember, Caleb, Joshua and the other tribal leaders were sent into the "land flowing with milk and honey" back in Numbers 13.
So why did God keep the Israelites wandering the desert for forty long years?
It's pretty simple, really.
D I S O B E D I E N C E!
Time and time again, the Israelites disobeyed God. They whined. They complained. They rallied against Moses. They doubted God. They didn't do what they were told.
Hmm. Does that sound familiar?
We're all like the Israelites at some point in our lives. We whine. We complain. We don't do what we know we're supposed to do.
Here's what God said about the Israelites' disobedience when Moses asked God to forgive them:
"The Lord replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times---not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers." Numbers 14:20-23
God waited for an entire generation to die before He allowed His people to enter the Promised Land. All because of their disobedience.
Are you waiting to get into your Promised Land? Maybe it's a job or a relationship or some other dream God has given you. It may be that God is simply letting you wait to teach you patience or some other lesson. Or it may be that He can't let you into your Promised Land because of disobedience. Are you living your life in a way that is displeasing to God? Do you feel like you're in the desert? You may need to examine your heart to make sure you're on the same page with God. If there is anything standing in the way--sin, bitterness, ingratitude, an unforgiving spirit--deal with it quickly so you can move forward. (Believe me, I'm talking to myself, too!!)
Promised Land or the Desert: It's your choice.
That sounds like a long time, doesn't it? Next month I'll be 46 years old. It seems like a reeeeeeally long time ago that I was only 6 years of age!! First grade, for crying out loud!
Or think about a baby born today. Seems like a lifetime away that they'll reach their 40th birthday!
Forty years.
That's how long the Israelites had to wander around the desert before they were allowed into the Promised Land. Can you imagine camping for forty years?! In the desert??
The real kicker is that the Promised Land was not far away. It wasn't across an ocean or on a different continent. In fact, some of the Israelites even saw the Promised Land and scoped it out. Remember, Caleb, Joshua and the other tribal leaders were sent into the "land flowing with milk and honey" back in Numbers 13.
So why did God keep the Israelites wandering the desert for forty long years?
It's pretty simple, really.
D I S O B E D I E N C E!
Time and time again, the Israelites disobeyed God. They whined. They complained. They rallied against Moses. They doubted God. They didn't do what they were told.
Hmm. Does that sound familiar?
We're all like the Israelites at some point in our lives. We whine. We complain. We don't do what we know we're supposed to do.
Here's what God said about the Israelites' disobedience when Moses asked God to forgive them:
"The Lord replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times---not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers." Numbers 14:20-23
God waited for an entire generation to die before He allowed His people to enter the Promised Land. All because of their disobedience.
Are you waiting to get into your Promised Land? Maybe it's a job or a relationship or some other dream God has given you. It may be that God is simply letting you wait to teach you patience or some other lesson. Or it may be that He can't let you into your Promised Land because of disobedience. Are you living your life in a way that is displeasing to God? Do you feel like you're in the desert? You may need to examine your heart to make sure you're on the same page with God. If there is anything standing in the way--sin, bitterness, ingratitude, an unforgiving spirit--deal with it quickly so you can move forward. (Believe me, I'm talking to myself, too!!)
Promised Land or the Desert: It's your choice.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Caleb had a Different Spirit. Do you?
Do you remember the Bible story about Joshua, Caleb and the other leaders who were sent to scope out the Promised Land ahead of the Israelite community? I remember being in Sunday School as a little girl hearing about the giants in the land, the huge grapes, and the land flowing with "milk and honey." That description always made me hungry!
If you aren't familiar with this story, you can find it in Numbers 13-14. God told Moses to send a leader from each tribe to scout out the land He was giving them. They did and came back to report a land that sounded pretty doggone good!
BUT...these same men also weren't too excited about the prospect of taking over that land from its current inhabitants. They told the whole community that there was no way they were stronger than the people living in the land. They went so far as to describe themselves as "grasshoppers" compared to the giants living there. (13:33) As usual, everyone started to moan and complain.
Oh, how quickly we forget the power of God!!
Caleb, however, didn't agree with the others. In verse 30 he says, " We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."
Why would he say such a thing when he'd seen the same land and people as the others had?
God gives us the answer to that question in Numbers 14:24.
"But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it."
Caleb didn't doubt for a moment that God would go with them to defeat the people in the land. Because of his faith, Caleb and Joshua would be the only Israelite men--out of the millions present that day--to reach the Promised Land. Why? Because God would not allow those who didn't trust Him to enter in. Not even Moses. Because of their failure to trust and obey God, the Israelites were forced to wander the desert for forty years, until a whole generation died.
What can we learn from Caleb and the Israelites?
1. God will bless us when we Trust and Obey Him and follow Him wholeheartedly! We will reach our Promised Land!
2. God will punish us when we don't Trust and Obey Him! We will never see our Promised Land.
It's a pretty simple lesson, no?
Caleb had a different spirit. Do you?
If you aren't familiar with this story, you can find it in Numbers 13-14. God told Moses to send a leader from each tribe to scout out the land He was giving them. They did and came back to report a land that sounded pretty doggone good!
BUT...these same men also weren't too excited about the prospect of taking over that land from its current inhabitants. They told the whole community that there was no way they were stronger than the people living in the land. They went so far as to describe themselves as "grasshoppers" compared to the giants living there. (13:33) As usual, everyone started to moan and complain.
Oh, how quickly we forget the power of God!!
Caleb, however, didn't agree with the others. In verse 30 he says, " We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."
Why would he say such a thing when he'd seen the same land and people as the others had?
God gives us the answer to that question in Numbers 14:24.
"But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it."
Caleb didn't doubt for a moment that God would go with them to defeat the people in the land. Because of his faith, Caleb and Joshua would be the only Israelite men--out of the millions present that day--to reach the Promised Land. Why? Because God would not allow those who didn't trust Him to enter in. Not even Moses. Because of their failure to trust and obey God, the Israelites were forced to wander the desert for forty years, until a whole generation died.
What can we learn from Caleb and the Israelites?
1. God will bless us when we Trust and Obey Him and follow Him wholeheartedly! We will reach our Promised Land!
2. God will punish us when we don't Trust and Obey Him! We will never see our Promised Land.
It's a pretty simple lesson, no?
Caleb had a different spirit. Do you?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Why do we doubt God?
"Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused."
That is the first verse in Numbers 11. I simply have to shake my head in disbelief. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt, for crying out loud! Forced to labor for others who may or may not have treated them very well. But now they were free, following God on a journey to the Promised Land and being provided by His hand every single step of the way!
And they had the nerve to complain!
Well, it's gets even better.
Sick of listening to the Israelites complaints, Moses has a major pity party in verses 10-15! I can't really blame him. I get tired of the Israelites just from reading about their complaining. I can't imagine having to listen to it day after day.
God, in his infinite patience with the Israelites and with Moses, says, "OK! I hear you!!" Instead of smacking their ungrateful butts like they deserved, God will give them what they want.
Meat!
They were tired of manna. They were bored with the miraculous gift God gave them every single morning.
Sounds familiar, eh? Sorta reminds me of...me! And you! And everyone else who walks this planet! We've been given so much, yet we still complain. We've been offered His Son as a sacrifice for our own ugly sins, yet we trample on the cross every time we choose the world and it's lies over Truth.
So God will give them what they want. He'll send so many quail in the next month "until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it." (11:20) Be careful what you ask for, right? Although they didn't ask for it; they whined for it.
But Moses isn't sure God can handle this monumental task. After all, there are about 2 million people camped on the desert. Surely that's too many for God to feed. Right?
"The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."
Why in the world did Moses doubt God?! He'd witnessed miracle after miracle after miracle! And yet there he is, in verses 21 and 22, doubting God.
Do you doubt God? Do you wonder if He is up to answering the prayers you pray? Do you ask yourself whether or not you can depend on Him?
Quail fell from the sky on top of the Israelites. There were so many you couldn't walk for a day without tripping over them. But even though God gave them meat, he was still angry with their ungrateful hearts. He struck them with a severe plague and a lot of them died.
The lesson we can each take away from this story is: Don't doubt God! He is in control. He has a plan. Don't grumble and complain about it, but rather accept it with a grateful heart.
That is the first verse in Numbers 11. I simply have to shake my head in disbelief. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt, for crying out loud! Forced to labor for others who may or may not have treated them very well. But now they were free, following God on a journey to the Promised Land and being provided by His hand every single step of the way!
And they had the nerve to complain!
Well, it's gets even better.
Sick of listening to the Israelites complaints, Moses has a major pity party in verses 10-15! I can't really blame him. I get tired of the Israelites just from reading about their complaining. I can't imagine having to listen to it day after day.
God, in his infinite patience with the Israelites and with Moses, says, "OK! I hear you!!" Instead of smacking their ungrateful butts like they deserved, God will give them what they want.
Meat!
They were tired of manna. They were bored with the miraculous gift God gave them every single morning.
Sounds familiar, eh? Sorta reminds me of...me! And you! And everyone else who walks this planet! We've been given so much, yet we still complain. We've been offered His Son as a sacrifice for our own ugly sins, yet we trample on the cross every time we choose the world and it's lies over Truth.
So God will give them what they want. He'll send so many quail in the next month "until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it." (11:20) Be careful what you ask for, right? Although they didn't ask for it; they whined for it.
But Moses isn't sure God can handle this monumental task. After all, there are about 2 million people camped on the desert. Surely that's too many for God to feed. Right?
"The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."
Why in the world did Moses doubt God?! He'd witnessed miracle after miracle after miracle! And yet there he is, in verses 21 and 22, doubting God.
Do you doubt God? Do you wonder if He is up to answering the prayers you pray? Do you ask yourself whether or not you can depend on Him?
Quail fell from the sky on top of the Israelites. There were so many you couldn't walk for a day without tripping over them. But even though God gave them meat, he was still angry with their ungrateful hearts. He struck them with a severe plague and a lot of them died.
The lesson we can each take away from this story is: Don't doubt God! He is in control. He has a plan. Don't grumble and complain about it, but rather accept it with a grateful heart.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Numbers and Blessings
I love it when God gives me little nuggets to enjoy!
In my last post I said I wanted to spend some time on the subject of prayer, but I would also continue my study in the Book of Numbers.
Well, the two came together in perfect harmony this morning during my quiet time.
"The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, "This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them, "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27
Every day I pray blessings over my loved ones. I don't word it exactly as the above, but I'm thinking I might from now on. Aren't those beautiful words?
"...the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious toward you."
How many of us need God's Holy Light that radiates from his face to flood over us and shine down on us? How many of us need God's grace every single day just to make it? I know I sure do!!
"...the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
I don't know about you, but I do not want God to ever turn his face away from me!! His peace is the only thing that gives me hope in a world where peace is hard to find.
Do you need a blessing today? It would be my honor to pray it over you!
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace!!
In my last post I said I wanted to spend some time on the subject of prayer, but I would also continue my study in the Book of Numbers.
Well, the two came together in perfect harmony this morning during my quiet time.
"The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, "This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them, "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27
Every day I pray blessings over my loved ones. I don't word it exactly as the above, but I'm thinking I might from now on. Aren't those beautiful words?
"...the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious toward you."
How many of us need God's Holy Light that radiates from his face to flood over us and shine down on us? How many of us need God's grace every single day just to make it? I know I sure do!!
"...the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
I don't know about you, but I do not want God to ever turn his face away from me!! His peace is the only thing that gives me hope in a world where peace is hard to find.
Do you need a blessing today? It would be my honor to pray it over you!
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace!!
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