Do we trust his provision?

I had the opportunity this week to read through the account of God delivering the Israelites from their Egyptian overlords and what happened after their deliverance. One thing caught my attention quickly - how much they complained about what God was doing. They complained as they faced the Red Sea. They launched another complaint when they came across the bitter waters in the region of Marah. Even after God performed miracles to redeem them from their captors and take care of their basic need for potable water, they still found reason to complain when their bellies were empty! I don't know about you, but when God does something 'big' in my life, it makes me sit up and take notice. When he does something 'small' in my life, I might miss it until I see a bunch of 'small' things mount up to a 'big' thing, but I eventually find the opportunity to acknowledge what he has done. God isn't always going to work in the 'big' ways in our lives, but he will faithfully work in the 'small' details, arranging them so we are in the right place, at the right time, and with his presence around us. The hope is that we will have the right attitude toward what he has done and trust him for what he is continuing to do!

Then all the Israelites left Elim. They reached the western Sinai desert, between Elim and Mount Sinai, on the 15th day of the second month after leaving Egypt. Then the whole community of Israelites began complaining again. They complained to Moses and Aaron in the desert. They said, “It would have been better if the Lord had just killed us in the land of Egypt. At least there we had plenty to eat. We had all the food we needed. But now you have brought us out here into this desert to make us all die from hunger.” (Exodus 16:1-3)

Waters piled high so they could escape their enemies on dry ground - big intervention. Waters swallowed every soldier in pursuit of them - big intervention. Bad waters turned to fresh, drinkable water - big intervention. Fire by night, pillar of smoke by day to guide them - big intervention. Empty bellies and feeling a bit too 'hangry' and they seem to be clueless as to the provision God has ALREADY made, much less the one he is about to make. Is it possible for God to NOT know our needs? No! So, why would they complain when their bellies rumbled, and they didn't 'see' food around them? Human nature, I guess. Does God hear their complaints and say, "Well, I am done with you bunch of ungrateful people"? No, he sends manna and quail - enough to each and every member of the group, until their bellies were full. He sends instructions to take only what they could eat in one day, no more. Did they do it? Nope! Some were greedy and perhaps a little 'untrusting' of God's provision, so they took more than they needed for the day, only to find it full of worms and with a foul smell when they went back to it.

Sin is a bit like that foul smelling manna - worm-filled and sour smelling. It leaves whatever it touches 'unusable' due to the 'decaying' state it creates. Sin has a way of 'proliferating' - almost unnoticed. Get outside of God's will and the 'proliferation' of those compromises isn't far behind. Why? Sin has a way of causing us to be very self-focused and self-determined. Whenever 'self' takes the lead and demands its own way, compromise is sure to come. What amazes me is that God allowed the gathering of twice as much manna as they needed on the day prior to the Sabbath, so they wouldn't have to gather it on the Sabbath - but it did not get wormy or spoil. Whenever we are living within God's will, his provision is certain, and we need not worry. The 'proliferation' of sin isn't going to happen when we remain within his will. Step outside of it in our pride or greed, and what comes will bring nothing more than putrid decay into our lives. The 'big' or 'small' interventions of God are all the result of his care over our lives. We are called to remain faithful to do his will, no matter what. Just sayin!

Too comfortable?

Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.” Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” (John 11:45-50)

A couple of things really stood out to me after reading the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus came out of the grave, after being dead a good couple of days, wrapped completely in grave clothes (hands and feet bound, face wrapped in a headcloth). There before the crowds stood a 'dead man' alive again, needing their assistance to be free of the shrouds of death that encompassed his body. Even with such a magnificent display of the power and grace of God, only some of the people believed in Jesus. Others were nothing more than worrisome tattletales. How many 'good things' need to happen right in front of us in order for us to believe? How many times are we so caught up in the worries of the day that we don't realize the presence of grace when it is right there in our midst?

As the story moves on, we see a group hurrying to the high council of the church. They were intent on 'telling on Jesus', not so much to convince the elders to take a positive stance toward Jesus, but to shut down his teaching and actions as a 'threat' to their way of life. They were more worried that the Roman government would catch wind of the great miracles, Jesus claiming to be the Son of God, and that the Romans would come into their towns with destructive force in order to 'shut down' Jesus. There is no 'shutting down' Jesus - but they don't know that! They just worry about their own circumstances - how their lives might be disrupted or made a little 'harder' in light of all the good stuff Jesus was doing amongst them. What a silly lot they were - seeing only their own comfort and missing that Jesus wasn't there to overthrow the Roman government, but to be a light and a way back to their Heavenly Father.

What makes the difference in us seeing and believing versus us seeing and being threatened? I might propose that when our 'comfort' becomes a little 'threatened' by any movement of God toward us, we have become way to comfortable with this world! We might not realize just how 'comfortable' we have become with the things this world offers us until we are faced with the amazing power of God. When his power is displayed, we can run to the world or press in closer to him. The graveclothes had to be removed in order for Lazarus to be free. Will we be the kind who stands and watches, or will we be the ones to unbind them? If we are comfortable with the world, we likely will be repelled by the 'stench' of death, choosing to allow others to do that 'dirty work'. 

Many believed - not all. Some still could not see their way past their 'concerns' and 'dreaded consequences' to embrace him. Let us not be the ones who find ourselves so caught up in our 'concerns' that we miss the opportunity to engage with grace. Just sayin!

God's proving ground

Out of difficulties grow miracles. (Jean de la Bruyere)

Miracles still happen, but when we don't find ourselves on the receiving end of a miracle, how do we respond? There will be times when we celebrate nonetheless - because we know God is still in control of the circumstances. There may also be times when we begin to realize we have hardened our hearts toward God because we didn't receive the miracle we sought. At others, we may see something that resembles a miracle and walk away totally unaffected by it. How can there be so many responses to God's presence in the midst of his people? I think it all comes down to the condition of the heart. The more we are hardened to the grace and love of God, the less likely we will be to recognize his presence in the small or large miracles we observe all around us.

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did exactly as the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw the stick down in front of Pharaoh and his officials. It turned into a snake. Then Pharaoh sent for wise men and people who do evil magic. By doing their magic tricks, the Egyptian magicians did the same things Aaron had done. Each one threw down his walking stick. Each stick turned into a snake. But Aaron’s walking stick swallowed theirs up. In spite of that, Pharaoh became stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said. (Exodus 7:10-13)

Pharaoh no doubt saw the various miracles of God right in front of him - each one of them bigger than the other. Each one mimicked by his 'magicians', telling me that this world has a way of attempting to 'crash God's party'. The thing we cannot fail to see is that God's miracles were not just to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelite people free from their slavery in his nation, but they were faith-bolstering evidence that God was with his people even when the situation didn't seem to give evidence of his presence! Each miracle Aaron and Moses performed at the instruction of God was mimicked by the magicians of Pharaoh - God promising to 'multiply the signs and amazing things he would do in Egypt' (vs. 3). In spite of all the evidence of God's presence and power - Pharaoh wouldn't submit to the plan of God.

The most telling things that reveal a great deal about Pharaoh are of the things God records about his extremely poor attitude of heart. "He will not listen...", "He became stubborn...", "He refuses to let the people go...", and "Even the miracles didn't change his mind..." - all telling statements of the hardness of his heart toward the truth. A heart hardened to truth, repeatedly rejecting the grace and power of God, will eventually just get harder and harder. Is there a way back from this hardness? It is a question I know we have all considered at one point or another. Can a man or woman so hardened to the grace of God be 'softened'? I believe in miracles, my friend! I believe God is able to change even the hardest of hearts.

Miracles oftentimes grow out of difficulties - out of those hardest places in our lives. We may not realize God is setting up the perfect display of his power and love, but in that moment of the 'miracle breakthrough', we see God soften even the hardest of hearts to his move upon their lives. Moses and 

Aaron didn't like that they had to repeatedly return to the courts of Pharaoh. They knew his heart was so hardened toward God's desires for his people. They knew they would be repeatedly challenged. It was a difficult situation, but they also knew they had the presence of God with them all the way. Difficulties are just God's 'proving ground' for the evidence of his grace and power to be demonstrated in ways we never imagined possible! Just sayin!

Mistakes = Miracle Making Ground

T.D. Jakes described his "mistakes" as the framework for his life's greatest miracles. I'd have to agree on that one, for all of life's mistakes are just missteps - opportunities to have done one thing, but choosing instead to do another. It might take some "redoing" of the steps, but mistakes can actually become the ground upon which God does his greatest work of growing us. We may not see mistakes in quite the same way at times - simply because we get down on ourselves and discount the value of these missed steps. It might not be until God actually begins to recreate the steps we had taken that we see the moment we took that wrong step. That moment in time is not what God brings to our memory so he can beat us up about those mistakes, but he does so in order to help us avoid that same trap the next time.

The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does. The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it.  When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.  The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.  The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.  (Psalm 145:13-19 NLT)

God might build upon our mistakes in ways we don't immediately see, though. It might take us some time to begin to see how he takes parts of those broken down places of our lives we label as "mistakes" and uses some of what others see as "rubble in those ruins" to bring something of monumental beauty in our lives. Not all that comes from our mistakes should be discarded and unused. In his hands of grace, those things others may label as "rubble" can become the most majestic of building blocks for something of even greater beauty and deeper strength than we ever imagined possible. I think this is what our psalmist may have in mind when he refers to God opening his hand and satisfying the hunger and thirst of every living thing. Mistakes leave us hungering - thirsting for God's grace. In his kindness, he uses those opportunities to grow us - we want to beat ourselves down - but he wants to build us up even when all we can offer to him is rubble.

Hiding mistakes never gets us anywhere. We can try as we might, but God knows those mistakes exist. He also is the only one totally able to pick out the pieces of those mistakes that will make the foundation of growth that ensures repeated failure will not occur. I think we try to manage our mistakes on our own, either because in our pride we are not willing to admit our wrongs to anyone (even God), or because if we admit them, we might actually have to assume some responsibility for them. Either way, God is kept out of the potential recovery from those mistakes until we humble ourselves enough to admit them, or we own up to them and acknowledge we had a part to play in the outcomes we are seeing.

While it may be hard to see mistakes as ground upon which miracles can take form, I think it is quite possible God's greatest works in our lives are done not in the absence of mistakes, but because of them! Just sayin!