March 2
Numbers 11:1-13:33
What do we truly desire: God's will for our lives or God to approve of our own will for our lives? The two are often not the same. Most have heard of Corrie Ten Boom. Many are not familiar with her sister, Betsie who didn't make it through the concentration camp. These Christian women who were sent to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp for hiding Jewish people in their house underwent brutal treatment and conditions. Corrie was starting to lose it when she was nauseated from the stench, banged her head on the slats of the upper bunk, felt cramped in her quarters, then began to get bitten up by the fleas. Betsie was deep in prayer as Corrie was complaining. She then excitedly told her to turn to the portion of the Bible they were reading that morning from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." In order Betsie had Corrie pray a prayer of thanks. They thanked God that they were assigned to the same camp. They then thanked God that they weren't inspected on entering so that they could keep their Bible. Betsie then thanked God for the overcrowded conditions since this only increased the number of women they could potentially share the hope of Christ with. Corrie reluctantly prayed for that last one. Betsie then thanked God for the fleas, which Corrie initially refused to do. Betsie reminded her to give thanks in all circumstances. Corrie reluctantly went along but thought that her sister was wrong with that last prayer request. Though the prison guards swarmed around the food lines and the barracks, they never entered their dormitory. Betsie and Corrie timidly began a Bible study in the back. Then, since the guards never entered, they became bolder and the Bible study grew. A while later Betsie found out the reason why. No German would dare enter a closed area infested with fleas. So, Betsie was right in thanking God for the fleas. We might not understand why certain things occur, but God can use anything and everything and can make the seemingly impossible, possible.
We read in Numbers 11:1, "Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp." Complaining is contagious, and is a habit which is not easily broken, as we see the punishment by God did little to stop it in 11:4-6, "Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”" When we complain, we are essentially telling God, "No, thank you", or "You could have done better". We mistakenly believe that others and more importantly, God, doesn't hear when we complain. But we read in 11:10, 18-20, "Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased... Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”
Whatever meeting or gathering that you are at, the complaining starts. When I recently stated this is not a good thing at a meeting, it only feeds on itself, one of my partners disagreed and stated it is a good thing for it to be aired out, which is often how the world sees it. It is contagious and self-perpetuating. The complaining is rampant, yet we live in a society in which few do not have shelter, warmth, food, education, opportunity, entertainment, companionship, etc. Is it that we are telling God that it is not enough, not good enough, or that we deserve more? We read in Psalm 118:24, "This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." If you desire things, then ask God who is more than able to provide, as we read in Numbers 11:23, "And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”" With our focus on God, and things are not going as we would wish, we can take comfort on Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." We often know these things, we just forget them as we begin complaining, feeling ourselves the victims of some sort of injustice. May we seek His will, not our own, and then not only accept, but learn to be thankful in whatever it is that He chooses.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: