A story is told of a farmer who was famous for his negative attitude.
One day a neighbour stopped by and commented on the farmer’s wonderful
crop. “You must be extremely happy with this year’s harvest,” the
neighbour said. The farmer grudgingly replied, “Well, yes, it looks like
a pretty good one, but a bumper crop is awfully hard on the soil.”
The Israelites can be compared to the farmer, because they had the
same attitude of complaining. After their rescue from captivity in
Egypt, God had miraculously taken care of them as they wandered in the
wilderness. Yet they complained.
For example, they grumbled about the
special food, manna, that God had so graciously provided. Remembering
the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic they used to eat
in captivity in Egypt, they whined, “There is nothing at all except this
manna before our eyes!” as exemplified in Numbers Chapter 11 verse 6.
What ungrateful spirits the Israelites had!
All too often, we tend to focus on the negatives rather than the
positives of life. We murmur against the Lord when we should be praising
Him for His countless blessings. We let ourselves be distracted by the
disappointments and deprivations that God allows for our spiritual good.
Whenever we are tempted to grumble, let us remember words from the Book
of Numbers Chapter 11 Verse 1: “And the people complained in the
hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes; and when the Lord heard it,
his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them, and
consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Then the people cried to
Moses; and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire abated.”
Every time you want to complain, think of others who have less or
nothing at all; ask the Lord to keep you humble and grateful for what He
has done for you. Some people go through life without ever ceasing to
complain.
Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem when ten lepers approached him.
Standing at a distance, as lepers were required to do, they called to
Him: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Luke 17:13. When Jesus saw them,
He commanded, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they
journeyed, they were healed.
When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, threw himself
at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. “Where are the nine?” Jesus asked. Good
question. Jesus referred to the grateful man as a Samaritan, an
outsider, perhaps to underscore His saying that “the sons of this world
are more shrewd… than the sons of light.” 16:18. The word ‘shrewd’ is
translated to mean ‘thoughtful’. Sometimes people of the world have
better manners than Jesus’ followers do.
In the day-to-day activities and challenges of life, we often forget
to give thanks. For instance, someone may have blessed us with a gift,
performed a task, delivered a timely sermon or provided a word of
counsel or comfort. But we fail to thank them. Has someone done
something for you this week? Give that friend a call or send a thank you
note. We don’t need more to be thankful; we just need to be more
thankful.
The Apostle Paul had a long list of people who had helped him and for
whom he was grateful as exemplified in Romans 16: 1-16. He wrote that
Phoebe had “been a helper,” Priscilla and Aquila had “risked their own
necks” for his life, and Mary had “laboured much” for him. And he took
time to write his thanks in a letter to the church at Rome.
Who has helped to shape your life? Could you make a visit of
gratitude – for their sake and for yours? Consider what the Lord has
done through those who have shown you love and thank them for their
faithful deeds, as they are blessings from above. Whatever our situation
is today, we must be thankful for all of God’s seasons and reasons.a
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