Oh, those stubborn Israelites in the desert. This passage is referring to the books Exodus through Deuteronomy. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. They cried out to God to save them & guess what - He did. He raised up a leader, Moses, who confronted pharaoh. God sent the 10 plagues to convince pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Once the Israelites were free, God parted the Red Sea & they walked right through it on dry ground! He lead them by day with a pillar of cloud and by night with a pillar of fire. And yet, they whined. Oh, how they whined. There wasn't enough water, so God produced water from a rock. There wasn't enough food, so God sent manna every morning to feed them. They got tired of manna every day, so God sent quail too. Then they whined again about water. God lead them to a Mt. Sinai and audibly spoke to them & they cowered in fear. They didn't want to hear the words of the Lord, so they sent Moses up the mountain to speak with God in private. While he was gone, they whined some more, made their own god, and had a great party to honor & celebrate their new god made of gold. On and on and on these people continued to turn away from God. He was RIGHT THERE in front of them day & night. He met their every need. Enemies attempted to harm them & God defeated them. They saw great miracles and yet they choose to live in fear & distrust. When I read these books, I think what dummies they were. Why didn't they believe in all that they had seen? And then I remember - I whine an awful lot. I complain. I mistrust. And God has always been right there protecting me.
Listen to this author's words and put away your distrust. Don't harden your heart to all the good things God does for you each day. Hold firmly to your confidence in the goodness of God and encourage those around you to open their eyes & see God. It doesn't matter how many miracles you witness. Remember, it's all about your relationship. You may see His power, but until you enter into a relationship, you will never know the depth of His love.
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