The Bread God Has Given

Exodus 16 deals with the complaints of the Israelites.  They had just fled from Egypt a month ago & were now in the desert, & could not see the "light at the end of the tunnel."

As a human, I can sympathize with their complaints of hunger. Yes, Egypt may not have been ideal, but at least they were fed.  Can you imagine how they felt to know God didn't forget about them when he provided them with manna & quail?!

In so many ways, I find myself behaving like the Israelites.  My biggest complaint to God is why do I feel like he doesn't hear me & why do I continue to have this feeling of being forgotten by him?

It is then that I realize God's "manna" for me each morning is nothing I thought I wanted, but everything God knew I needed.  He provided me with an amazing job in a place I knew no one, but in that, I was forced to get to know myself.  I didn't have the distractions of constant chaos & social events to keep me busy.  For the first time, I knew what it was like to be alone, but in this process I was able to work on myself.  I figured out my own values & really started fresh...which was something I desperately needed. He provided me with amazing family, friends, & new people in my life. He showed me I was in no way ready to settle down like I thought I was, to appreciate my health, my up-bringing, & the comfort of his word.

God has provided me with everything I need & much more than I deserve.  Even as I write this & reflect, I'm embarrassed at how often I look @ the negatives & what I don't have.  It is most evident that God has not forgotten me, just that I stopped trusting him. 

Desire for Reconciliation

    

Have you ever stopped to think about what the world looked like when first created?  I think it's hard to fathom the beauty & I don't think any description could give it justice.

Genesis chapter 3 speaks of the rebellion of human kind.  As I read through this chapter, I can't help but ask myself the question; Adam & Eve what were you thinking?! You had EVERYTHING provided for you in a sinless, beautiful, perfect life, & yet that wasn't enough.  The desire to want the one thing that was off-limits caused the WHOLE world to change.

As I mentally try to put myself in that position I can't help but ask myself, would I have made the same mistake?  As much as I would like to say, "no, I'm sure I would've been perfectly content & obeyed God," I'm almost positive I probably would've made the same mistake.

My "Garden of Eden" scenario is a candy bar (I know, not even close, but I do have quite the sweet tooth). Let's say I have every possible candy known to man available.  I could have as much of whatever I wanted, but I couldn't have the whoppers. Now, I don't even like whoppers that much, but I can tell you that the only thing I would be craving @ this time would be a whopper. I would probably even consider paying a little extra just to have some.

I think as humans, we struggle daily to be happy & content with the amazing life God has given us...or maybe that's just myself? There is always going to be something bigger & better.  It is then that I realize my wants & needs rarely coincide with God's.  Instead, I keep chasing this worldly view of needing "more" & "having to have the best" while never being fully satisfied.  My point being, in the world my "forbidden fruit" is the desire to keep up with the world.  If someone tells me I can't, I want to. If I'm told not to do something, that is suddenly the most important thing I need to do. Why do we always want what we can't have? Why can't we just be content? Instead of focusing on what I can't have/what I don't have, I need to re-train my brain to think of everything I DO have. I may have gone off topic here - but I think I got what God wanted to me out of this chapter.