“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16
In the wilderness, the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron saying to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!” (Exodus 16:2-3).
What an amazing lack of faith! There was no memory of God providing drinkable water (15:25), no thought of asking God to provide for their needs, no expectation that God would care. Even though God destroyed a whole army of Egyptians to save them, their first reaction when they had a problem was to grumble.
They don’t reflect on God’s faithfulness in the past, instead, their complaints escalated, “There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” (16:3). They seem to have completely forgotten they were slaves in Egypt.
Yet, perhaps we do the same? We’re quick to forget that we were once slaves to sin. God has provided salvation, access to his grace, fellowship with him and every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). Yet we’re often slow to seek God, thinking he is too busy, aloof or uncaring, despite all the evidence to the contrary. God is deeply interested in all that concerns us, so much so that he sent Jesus, who was like us, “in every respect” (Hebrews 2:17).
When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, may our first reaction not be grumbling or accusing God of indifference. May we remember the ways God has already provided for us and ask him for what we need.
Other posts on this topic here.
