School delay today. It is important to have a school delay, for this morning visibility is extremely limited due to fog. Thick, fluffy, fog. The girls get to sleep in--how wonderful for everyone!
Sometimes I think we need to pray for the fog to be lifted, don't you? Do you ever feel like your ideas, thoughts, dreams are unclear-foggy? I do. I do a lot. I was reading in the book of Numbers this morning. Maybe because of my years, or maybe because of the focused time that I have been given to study. But this morning a couple of things occurred to me. As I have talked about before, life is all about 'change', and if we spend our time whining that 'we don't like change' then we are going to miss a good portion of our life--through out complaining.
If you are like me, I sometimes think that if I had been wondering around in the desert, following Moses, I would never have complained, I would have just seen the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea--and fresh manna every morning. And, I would keep in mind that 'the Promised Land' was coming.
Plus, from my vantage point, thousands of years later, I know that they do, indeed, enter the Land. Of course, many didn't make it 'in'--not Moses, Aaron or Miriam--or ten of the twelve spies sent to Canaan...or the original people that left Egypt...Do not miss the point here: God was not being 'mean' by not allowing them to possess the Land, no, this was the consequence of their sin--the constant complaining, whining and sowing seeds of dissension. Rememeber? They did not trust Him, or the man that He placed over them, Moses. However, the ones born during the years in the desert, the Israelite nation as a whole, did get to enter the land flowing with milk and honey.
The Land was promised long before the Israelite nation existed or exited from Egypt. Remember, their Father Abraham was promised that his offspring would be as numerous as the sand. He and his family lived as nomads, in tents, traveling throughout their lives. And, for this season realted in Numbers, the Nation of Israel became nomadic, as well--traveling and living in tents--for forty years. For even though they lived as slaves in Egypt, they had routine, they knew what their day to day life looked like--we humans like routine and predictablity, don't we? On the move, though, they had to be instructed about everything--they were given specific instructions about their posture toward God, their relationships with each other, how to live thier lives. They were given specific instruction about where to make their camp in realtion to the tabernacle, where the Lord's Presence Dwelt among them!
The 'worries' of Abraham and Sarah had been about how and when they would actually receive that baby that God had promised them. They did not seem as concerned about where they would get their next meal, or drink of water. The Israelites were very concerned about the quality and variety of food, and their water supply--and were not shy about making their concerns known to Moses.
In the desert, God taught the Israelite nation that He is faithful--that He can be trusted for their basic needs, but above all, he expected obedience and their personal holiness--and He intended to bless them, with a land not their own, that they would possess.
What about us? Do we need to be taught any lessons? My family & I have a little experience at living a sort of modern-day nomadic lifestyle. No, we didn't live in tents--or hunt for, kill and eat our food, or have to dig wells for fresh water--but at the same time, we lived for a little over a year without a 'home' to call 'our own'. We learned many lessons about trusting God's provision--His timing--and His grace.
My friend, Ian, once said, "Don't sin in the desert--you'll be there longer!" True? I think so, if we don't learn in a timely manner, we may not even make it out of the dessert. We need to learn the life-lessons as we go.
In order to recognize the lesson and learn it--we must possess clear thinking--so, Ask for the fog to be lifted from your thinking, Ask for God to bless your effort at thinking clearly--and Ask for wisdom to know 'the next thing' to do--for we know that God is faithful. Remember, we have been told that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart!--The clearer He becomes to us, the more we love Him--the more our desires line up with His--and He will bless.
Take a lesson from Numbers--pursue personal holiness--pursue a life where you are not complaining or grumbling, but enjoying God's provision--remembering that it may not look exactly like we expected! Live your life in obedience and expectation. Be Blessed.
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