Nothing But Manna

It's raining today in Greenville, SC. . . AGAIN!  I just got off the phone with a friend who lives out in Montana, and she asked how the summer had been.  I couldn't stop myself from expressing my weariness of all the rain.  I described how my grass resembled something from the Amazon because it won't stop raining and dry out long enough for Jason to cut it.  I continued my tirade with my sob story of the piles of firewood that are sitting out in the yard (or more like swimming in the yard) that we can't get split and stacked because it rains every evening.  To top it off, she told me how they had been having beautiful weather.  I was jealous!

When I got off the phone, I thought back over what I had said and realized that I sounded just like the children of Israel as they wandered around in the desert.  God had freed them from their bondage in Egypt.  He had led them safely across the Red Sea.  He provided for their every need, and part of that provision was the manna that fell from Heaven each day.  But that wasn't good enough for the Israelites, and they began to complain.  "We're tired of manna.  Can't we have something else to eat?  Day in and day out, nothing but manna.  Yuck!"

Sound familiar.  "We're tired of rain.  Can't we have some other weather for a while?  Day in and day out, nothing but rain.  Yuck!"  God is pouring down His blessings from the sky, and I, like the children of Israel, can only complain.  Yes, the constant rainfall is frustrating.  Yes, it's wearying.  Yes, it makes some things more difficult.  But does that give me the right to be ungrateful?  Does it give me the right to complain as if God is doing something wrong?  Absolutely not.

Sadly, for most of us (yes, Christians too), the manna moaning doesn't end with the weather.  We complain about our jobs, our families, our coworkers, our churches, our chores, our financial standing and our possessions.  Just like the children of Israel, we seek more.  We want something different.  We're tired of the same old things, so we complain and lose sight of all the blessings we should be praising God for.

May I challenge you today to stop looking for something better and spend some time thanking God for what you have?  He has been so faithful in giving, but we've been so lax in praising.  Isn't it time we remedied that?  Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 

Even if those blessings flow in the form of raindrops.

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! - Psalm 107:8,15,21,31