“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” – Numbers 11:5-6
The people of Israel were so…human. What could be more like us than to be miraculously set free from slavery and then start complaining about the food?!? The people’s initial excitement about seeing God work countless incredible miracles on their behalf had faded. Their rush of joy from no longer being slaves had also faded. Israel had been living in the desert with God for quite some time. Rather than celebrate His daily miraculous provision of manna to eat, they complained about the lack of variety. Rather than celebrate being out of Egypt, they had forgotten their previous misery and only remembered the tasty food of their enslavement.
Sadly, this is simply human nature and we’re all tempted to be like the Israelites. Our gratitude toward God tends to fade quickly after He does something amazing for us. Our ingratitude can suddenly erupt when we decide we don’t like the particular way God has chosen to answer our prayers and provide for our needs. If we aren’t intentional about cultivating gratitude and aren’t regularly reminding ourselves of God’s miraculous work, we quickly take Him for granted or resent Him. We stop praising God and start grumbling about God.
Grumbling is dangerous!!! It was certainly dangerous for the Israelites. God soon answered their request for meat with so much meat it not only nauseated them, He sent a plague upon them. Satisfaction isn’t ever going to be found in our dinner menus. However, it’s freely available in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The question is whether we choose to intentionally cultivate that satisfaction through prayer, praise, meditation on Scripture, worship, fellowship, service, and sharing or do we choose to feed the dissatisfaction that comes naturally to most of us?
Are you grateful today or grumbling? #FollowJesus