Weekly Meditation
Scripture: Numbers 11:4-10
The wilderness in the Hebrew Bible was viewed as a place where God’s presence was absent. The wilderness was the domain of evil, wild creatures, stony, and hot deserts. Yet, the wilderness was also a “thin place” as the ancient monastics described it, where the divine meets the ordinary.
In today’s text, the wilderness is a place of frustration. Walking around in circles through the wilderness the people of Israel have had enough. They’ve been walking through the wilderness to a “promised land” that they have yet to arrive at. Why did they leave Egypt for a hot desert? If only they had meat?! Tired and frustrated with their circumstances they began to complain remember in Egypt we had fish, cucumbers, oh the melons, the leeks, the onions, and garlic!
There are a few problems with this. The first being that their present circumstances caused them to misremember the past. Their journey through the wilderness and the discomfort of the present enabled them to paint an unrealistic picture of Egypt. They begin to focus on the food they had, the onions, leeks, fish, and garlic forgetting they were slaves in Egypt. Secondly, by complaining they missed God’s daily provision for them. Throughout their wilderness journey, God provided manna an unknown substance literally translated as “what is it?” In their complaint, they missed that God supplied their needs and nourished them with exactly what they needed for each day.
We are living in a wilderness moment. It seems that we are walking through the unknown with no end in sight. In our wilderness moment, it is easy to complain and to focus on what we lack. However, there is a lot more we can be thankful for. Gratitude is about cultivating an awareness of the blessings of this life. If we focus on what we are lacking, we will miss the daily provisions and blessings of God.
In their complaint, they missed a fact more important than manna or the food in Egypt. The manna was a reminder that God was with them on their journey.
Gratitude is not only the cultivation of an awareness of the blessings of life. It is an act of worship, reminding us that God is always with us on this journey.
We may be in the wilderness but there is much to be thankful for.
For rainy days and soccer games
Coffee on the front stoop
Football and fall leaves
Laughter on the phone with a friend
The smell of fresh-cut grass
The dawn of a new day
The breath in our lungs
All of these blessings
Are daily miracles
Signs of the tender mercies of our savior
For all these blessings
and so much more
We give God Thanks
With Love & Prayers,
Rev. Harris
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