Day two: Double Dose


I don’t know about you, but I’m really good at complaining.  Sometimes there are situations where it is appropriate to complain, like when you receive poor service at a restaurant,  or you disagree with your elected officials. Unfortunately most of my complaining comes in the form of whining, especially when God doesn’t answer my prayers they way I expect.  Lately I’ve been complaining about how it seems like my life is not the one God promised me, or what I thought He would have promised.  As I was doing my devotions this week, I discovered that my outlook on life was similar to that of the Israelites as they were wandering in the desert.

I had to go back a few chapters to read the background since it’s been a while since I’ve heard the story of Moses and the Israelites, but I learned that God led them by a cloud. At some point in their journey, God entered the cloud and heard the complaints of the Israelites. The adjectives tired and hungry don’t even begin to describe how they were feeling, but those were some of their complaints. God decided to give them the food that they needed, and used it as an opportunity to see if the Israelites were truly following His commands. Exodus 16 tells us how it went down.

“God said to Moses, “I’m going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day’s ration. I’m going to test them to see if they’ll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration…
That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was.So Moses told them, “It’s the bread God has given you to eat. And these are God’s instructions: ‘Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.’”
The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed.
Moses said to them, “Don’t leave any of it until morning.”  But they didn’t listen to Moses. A few of the men kept back some of it until morning. It got wormy and smelled bad. (Verses 4-5, 13-20, The Message.)

At this point in the story, Moses is ticked! The Israelites ask God to provide , yet they still disobey His commands even though He has provided so much! It was this part of the story that hit home with me. There have been countless times that God has provided for me, and instead of thanking Him, I’ve slapped Him in the face. Rather than being content with what the creator of the universe has provided, I know I’ve complained that it wasn’t enough and sought after that second helping of blessings. Here’s my favorite part of the story-God still shows His love and provides! Check it out:

Moses said, “This is God’s command: ‘Keep a two-quart jar of it, an omer, for future generations so they can see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness after I brought you out of Egypt.’”Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Place it before God, keeping it safe for future generations.”
Aaron did what God commanded Moses. He set it aside before The Testimony to preserve it.
The Israelites ate the manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle down. They ate manna until they reached the border into Canaan. (Verses 32-35, The Message.)

Too often I find myself complaining when I can’t see how life’s chapters are going to end. Like the Israelites, I want God to meet my needs instantly. My desire for instantaneous blessings often causes me to miss out on the gifts God has already given me. I think part of this comes from living in a culture that seeks instant gratification. As Christians we are called to stand apart from our world, and this is just one part of that. I hope that you are able to see how God has poured His blessings into your life, even in the midst of trying times.