I want more
Deuteronomy 2:7, “For the LORD your God has blessed you in all that you have done ; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.”
Almost as soon as the Israelites left Egypt their grumbling began. “I’m thirsty”, “All we have to eat is this manna”, blah, blah, blah. It reminds me of kids today when they say, “Are we there yet?” It can get annoying; as a parent you’ve tried to provide for all their needs, but they still want more. I won’t call them ungrateful brats, but…
God put up with the children of Israel whining about what they didn’t have instead of rejoicing over what they did have. I believe that this upset God; you read some of the wilderness stories, and you will see that God got mad when the Israelites whined constantly. They grieved the heart of God, and they were forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years because of it.
Whining and complaining is an act of immature, unappreciative people. People that can only see what they don’t have. I’ll admit that I used to be one of these people. I looked around me, and all I saw was people who had perfect lives, perfect, working bodies and plenty of money. Everything that I thought I wanted. Then I considered Ted Turner; one of the wealthiest men in America. Mr. Turner was married and divorced three times and had what I would consider a miserable life even though he had more money than most can imagine.(Mr. Turner is no longer an atheist, but a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America)
The Israelites like many of us saw only what their eyes could behold and their hands could touch. They sought the treasures of this world which will only give temporary joy, but no lasting fulfillment. Only God can provide lasting joy. The 23rd Psalm is one of the most well known passages of Scripture in the Bible. Verse 5 says “Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou hast anoinnted my head with oil. My cup overflows.” Only God can cause our “cup to overflow”; any amoumt of money, or worldly posessions without God is a deathtrap. But if we have the love of God in our lives then He uses whatever we have to bring abundant riches.
Remember the story of the poor widow found in Mark 12. Jesus said that she gave her contribution to God out of the love that filled her heart, and when this love for God and from God fills our heart then surely we can say that He has caused our cup to overflow!
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Father, I thank You for loving me, and showing that love by the sacrifice of Your Son; I also ask that You remind me when things seem dark that I am rich because of Your love for me. In Jesus name, Amen
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Yes, You Can Ministry 