September 22 – Unholy Discontent (Psalm 78:17-31)

“They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.”(Psalm 78:18)

IN WORD:
God had led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. They were confidently on the way to the Promised Land. After all, it had been promised.
But, a funny thing happened on the way to Canaan’s bounty. They had to go through a desert. The wilderness was wild beyond their tastes. Yes, they had seen God do marvelous things, but the sight of this desert seemed so much clearer than the goodness of God. Was the problem a short memory? An evil nature with a propensity to sin? A bad habit of complaining? Maybe all these and more. Regardless, the chosen people spoke against the One who chose them. They had just been given the rule of God’s Law, but their cravings ruled them more. With transient, demanding desires, they put God to the test.
We can relate. Human beings are complainers by nature. We instinctively know that things aren’t right in our lives. We live in a fallen world that we somehow expect to give us a better deal — for no reason in particular. When our desires aren’t satisfied, we cry out to God. He has already dealt bountifully with us, but we have short memories. He has provided manna, but we have a taste for something else. He has created us for His purposes, but we have purposes of our own. So we sit as judges while our God goes on trial.

IN DEED:
It’s an absurd situation, really. Wandering human beings — miraculously delivered from oppressive slavery, fed with food from above, visibly encountered by the Word of the living Lord, and promised an abundant land of victory — don’t like our lot. Every time we utter a prayer asking, “Lord, why are You picking on me?” Or express frustration that our plans are not exactly working out, we are hugely underestimating the goodness of God. Whenever we feel that the Deliverer, Savior, Redeemer, Victor, Guide, Protector, and Provider has somehow let us down, perhaps we should ask ourselves: Who is more likely to misunderstand this situation — me or Him?

“The secret of contentment is the realization that life is a gift, not a right.” -Anonymous-