Ah, I picked the right Godly person to complain to yesterday morning, because they said ONE THING that made me realize to COUNT MY BLESSINGS INSTEAD. Yes, for the events of that day I should humbly put my fuming anger back into fueling my faith, to take the long view of forgiveness and grace. TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME. We should do that more. Oh, I need to do that more and more… one day at a time… And 2 days later, the events now fade away and I remember that “in life” we should take ALL things in stride. Keep walking…

Reading Old Testament accounts about Moses’s stress and the people’s complaining to him about ONLY having manna to cook into bread (and only enough for that day or 2 days near the sabbath), I count my blessings that I can run to the store or the WAWA. The people complained TOO MUCH and some started asking for meat. This story reminds of the importance of NOT complaining too much (seeking justice yes, but whining NO). Those people who whined about food angered God that He sent quail to eat but SO MUCH it was TOO MUCH. *Seriously read the scriptures below, eww, quail out their nostrils*. Then, He punished the people for whining by sending a plague. He demonstrated His POWER.

Moses doubted/worried/just was badgered by the people too, but the reason the Lord delivered in overabundance was to both prove His Point that He can provide AND that demonstrate that He is all powerful. SO… NO, it is NOT good for us to complain about our daily bread, BETTER to put the manna in my mouth and be grateful than have nothing. BETTER to learn from the situation than sit and stew. (Think Proverb 17:1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.) 

How we often think we deserve better, that attitude can bottle up and fume. Better to work thru the anger and use our own arms and elbow grease than do more whining. We are to remember the Lord’s Long Arm, not short. He can rescue us, give us food AND food for thought in working things out. He can also have us WATCH Him work things out. 

Taking life in stride in walking every day as the Lord commands – as we must think about WHY we have gifts and challenges in life. THEY CAN MAKE US STRONGER AND DEPEND ON HIM.

My food for thought became a mental digest when complaining to a friend about my situation. It was her saying: “We all hope for a better year than last year or the year before.” – oh yeah, I forgot about people dealing with loss and those who went without, we often DO forget that we have CHALLENGES to adjust to but much more in gifted opportunities in life… Put my manna BACK into my mouth, block me from complaining, I AM GRATEFUL… Our real dependence on the Lord is best clicked into gear FIRST before our mouth get in gear.

God can give us manna and all gifts – bread from heaven is a gift – life is a gift – time is a gift – Jesus as our daily bread is a gift. Jesus, He is our Daily Bread – every day we need His forgiveness, grace, love, and everyday we need to hunger FOR Him.  Each day our gifts are enough for that day. Each day we are to look for His Long Arm – He provides and rescues us EACH day. He also gives us people with whom to share the burdens, just like Moses. He gives us knowledge and direction. 

And what’s the GREATEST GIFT? God’s anger is rested upon, dealt with, and SATISFIED WITH the SACRIFICE of JESUS, in place of OUR sins and the world’s brokenness before us affecting us. The Long Arm of the Lord becomes our shield and saving grace. (and we need it.)

Our daily bread today is Jesus, let’s rise each day and keep walking…

(Man-na I will look for challenges to bless me in my day, Man-na I’m going to appreciate today.)

Thank You Lord for Your Long Arm.

Amen

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“Day by Day – to see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly – day by day.”

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PLEASE READ:

Numbers 11:4-35

Quail From the Lord

The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”

The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.

“Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it.  You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”

The Lord answered Moses, “IS THE LORD’S ARM TOO SHORT? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.

However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

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Remember that we should crave Jesus as our daily bread, His HOPE, LOVE, FORGIVENESS – appreciate all – Amen