Living in reality. Seeking real life.
Today’s application is drawn from Exodus 13-15.
“Then they said to Moses, ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians that that we should die in the wilderness.’” – 14:11
Immediately after being delivered from 400 plus years of slavery, the Israelites begin complaining that they would have rather been slaves in Egypt than die in the wilderness.
It’s fun to ridicule the Israelites for their morbidly fickle logic, but their response is so much like ours―if we’re honest with ourselves. We beg God “pretty-pretty-please” for wisdom and then when he constructs the perfect trial to give us what we asked for we turn on him like a well lubricated lazy-susan. “Why, God Why!? Why are you afflicting me with these trials!? Don’t you love me? Wahhaa, boo hoo hoo.” and so on and so forth.
We beg God, “Please let that super-cute girl that works at Starbucks on, like, 18th and Pearl be, like, single and want to go out with me” and then, “please let her say yes when I, like, ask her to marry me” and then “God, like, what were you thinking!? Why couldn’t you have given me, like, a more compatible spouse or something?”
Lazy Susans are perfect for storing spices and maximizing kitchen space on a budget, but constantly turning and changing our minds about what we want from God does not exactly exemplify a life of faith.
Let us strive to be more like a tupperware drawer―sure you can’t always find the right lid, but at least tupperware is pliably consistent. And tupperware seems like it’s the most “thankful” kitchen accessory; which is how I want to be when God answers my prayers, even when they don’t turn out how I expected.
Lord, help me to not complain so much. Help me to see when you’ve been answering my own prayers through what I feel are less than desirable circumstances. Thank you for being so patient with my fickle heart and for loving me no matter what I say or do.
Please leave comments with your thoughts on the following questions or feel free to respond to anything else that comes to mind. You can leave comments by clicking the tweet button at the top of this article or you can click the comments link below. Whatever you tweet will be added to the disscussion of this post.
Can you think of a time you prayed for something and the answer was much different than you expected? Please share it.
Was is better or worse?
Does God always answer our prayers through trials or does he sometimes just immediately grant us what we ask for?
How can we help ourselves to see that sometimes our trials are a result of God’s answered prayers?
Wow!! That really hit a nerve. I have to admit that I am like the Israelites pretty often. Whining, complaining, not being content, not having faith in a God who is working on my behalf all the time. Thanks for the reminder. And thanks for making me laugh. The similes you talked about had me laughing out loud. What a great start to my day. Ginaye
This post is beyond awesome. Great metaphor.
I have to admit, I’ve been reading a writing style book called spunk and bite and trying to work in some of the author’s advice. I hope it’s working. :)