Be Content

Let's imagine for a moment. Your life is pretty good. You have a job, a place to live, food to eat, and clothes on your back. Your friends are in the same place in life as you, and you're all feeling good about life. Then one day, some of your friends get promoted to a better position. The next day, some of them find boyfriends. Before you now it, they're all in upper management positions, married, and able to afford just about anything they want. However, you haven't gone anywhere. You still have the same job, same home, same food, and same clothes.

So how do you feel? What's your first response? All too often it's to complain to God.

Numbers 11: 1-15

Here you can see the Israelites weren't content in all the LORD had blessed them with. They weren't grateful that they were no longer slaves, and more than that, God's chosen people to stand apart from all other peoples. No, even though they had manna from heaven coming down everyday to meet their hunger needs, they weren't satisfied. They were free, but they complained about having to live and wander in a desert. God answered their cries for deliverance, but they wanted to just march right back into their enslavement for something as insignificant as the type of food they would eat.

How many times are we the same way? We have all the things we need, our lives are a thousand times better here in America than other peoples in third world countries, we can practice our faith freely without fear of being killed, but we still find things to complain about.

And sisters, it's very possible (as Doug said yesterday) that there won't be a knight in shining armor, or a prince on a white horse to come and sweep you away into a fairytale someday. Will you still be joyful in the LORD and love him all your life if he tells you "no"?

Be SO thankful that Jesus died for us. It's only because he atoned for our sins and much like Moses, speaks on our behalf to God, that we don't feel the wrath and anger of God on us because of our complaining. Thank the LORD for Jesus, the sin filter! (Hahaha, I had to put that in.)

So I challenge you all to just be grateful for every blessing you have. And just to give you a range, the fact that you're breathing right now is a blessing. That you have eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth to experience the world God made for you. That you have family and/or friends around you. That the sun still rises everyday and sets every night. That God loves you so much more than you could ever know or imagine.

Therefore, be content.