Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

How Soon We Forget~ by Jan


I was reading Psalm 106 this morning. It tells the story of how God delivered the children of Israel from slavery and led them out of Egypt. He allowed them to escape the pursuing army by parting the Red Sea, enabling them to cross on dry land. What a time of rejoicing that must have been!  They were finally free and headed toward the Promised Land. God had performed many miracles to bring them to this place, and yet, the Psalm goes on to say…
But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.” Psalm 106:13
When I read this, I just want to shake my head. After all God did for these people, it says they soon forgot what he had done and instead of waiting for his plans for them to unfold, they started making plans of their own. When God didn’t seem to be working fast enough for them or in the way they thought he should, they began trying to figure things out on their own – with a bunch of mumbling and complaining thrown in, I might add.  Isn’t that just crazy?
Uh…isn’t that just what we do?
I’m raising my hand…guilty as charged. I hate to admit that, but it’s true.
Just recently my husband had to have complete knee replacement surgery. The cost to us was going to be over $4000. (and that’s with insurance!)
I don’t know about you, but we don’t have that kind of money laying around. We had no idea where we would get it, but God had it all under control. We received checks that we did not expect, friends started giving us money, co-workers took up an offering, we auctioned off a few things and they brought in more money than we dreamed they would.
By the time his surgery came around, we had it all paid for – and that was God’s miracle to us. But, what happened next?
Our income changed and we were bringing in $400 a month less than we had been.  What did I do? Did I remember the financial miracle God had just performed? Did I relax and wait for his plans to unfold for us?
Nope!  I started wracking my brains for ways to earn extra money, spent scads of time on the computer researching different small business possibilities, and began to let worry and anxiety creep in. Until this morning, that is. Until God led me to this passage of scripture and showed me that I was behaving exactly like the children of Israel did. Those people that I was so quick to judge.
So, now I’m back on track, but wondering…
Does this kind of stuff ever happen to you?
If so, let me encourage (read strongly urge) you to go read Psalm 106. I can pretty much guarantee that once you’ve read it, you won’t want to travel the same road the children of Israel did. Remember how long it took them???


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Jan posts wonderful devotionals here every Thursday. You can find her at Fellowship of Christian Bloggers. If you have a Christian blog, consider adding it to their directory :)

2 comments:

  1. I am raising my hand with you Jan. God has brought me to a new season and it's been three years of waiting for HIS plan to unfold.(still waiting) I too became frustrated in my waiting. Thank you for sharing and showing me I am not the only one. The good news...I am back on track :)
    I do not want to be as the children of Israel, complaining and gripping :)
    Blessings~
    Stacey

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  2. Thanks, Stacey! It's great to know that we're not walking through this desert alone!

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