Submitted By Ginny-Lou Alexander
In Exodus 16.2-3 we read, “In the desert the whole community (of Israelites) grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt. There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us into this desert to starve the entire assembly to death.’” (NIV)
The whole Israelite nation had just recently witnessed God’s miraculous deliverance out of slavery in Egypt, and almost immediately they began to grumble about the food or lack thereof. They were dissatisfied with God’s provisions. They perceived that they were enduring hardship which invariably led to ingratitude.
How much like those Israelites are we? The moment we perceive that we are suffering without something, or that we could use a better or newer more up-to-date ‘this or that’ we complain, we grumble, we are miserable. We are like the Israelites who looked back and focused on all the great abundance of food they enjoyed in Egypt. All they would have had to do was focus on the LORD who had already provided for them and had covenanted to continue to do so.
When we find ourselves in situations or circumstances that we don’t particularly like let us change our focus; “let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross . . .” (Heb.12.2)
Let us turn from expressing our yearning for what we lack, let us accept and bask in God’s love, and let us recognize the hand of God on our lives giving us life and significance.
The most important step toward joy in any given situation is to change our focus from what we do not have to what we do have.
By Ginny-Lou Alexander, Sheridan Lake House Church
