Content with God

"Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.  You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him saying, 'Why did we come out of Egypt?'" (Num. 11:18-20, ESV).

The attitudes of our hearts reveal a world of information.  It is never just "things" with which we are displeased.  If someone gives us a "crappy" gift, we grumble. We say things like: "how could they have given me that?," "this just shows how little they know me," etc.  We fuss and complain.

This account reminds us that grumbling has serious consequences.  And I don't just mean grumbling out loud has consequences.  The grumbling of the lips is little more than the heart's attempt at voicing its opinion without being heard.  If they can't prove I said it, they can't do anything about it.

Israel was whining because they only had manna to eat for a time.  The precious bread from heaven had lost its flavor for them.  They wanted something more.  The preferred the slave master's stew, to the King of heaven's bread.  They were yearning for what they left behind, because they believed it to be greater than what they had received.

It wasn't their tongues that were displeased with manna, it was their hearts that were displeased with God.  They had come to believe that the Lord wasn't worthy of the journey.  He was costing them too much, with too little of a pay off.

In the end, their grumbling cost them dearly.  The meat that they used as an excuse for their displeasure with God was forced upon them.  They had to eat it and eat it until it was running out of their noses.  This "pleasure" became a burden.

Have you ever found yourself dissatisfied with what the Lord has given you?  Are you content with his provision?  Do you believe the Lord is good and just and merciful?  Or do you believe that he asks too much of you, and gives too little in return?  If you find yourself grumbling about the things in your life, take warning.  It could always be worse.  Just as the Israelites discovered, you had better be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

Finding Satisfaction in the Lord

I have been thinking about something John Piper says frequently. He says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." It reminds me of something King David said, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and do good; and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4, ESV). The great reward for God's people isn't stuff, it isn't even crowns of glory. The great reward for God's people is God himself.

If we delight ourselves in the Lord, what will our hearts' desire? Logically, it will be the Lord. Our heart wants what it delights in. In Israel the high priest was to speak (pray) this blessing over the people: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Num. 6:24-26, ESV). Thus, this blessing was meant to bring people into the presence of the Lord with full acceptance. It is a promise (since the priest is commanded by God to pray this) that God will make his people holy and acceptable.

The joyous conclusion of Revelation also suggests that God is our great reward. John writes, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them , and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev. 21:3-4, ESV). It also suggests, the fulfillment of the high priestly blessing. In the New Heaven and New Earth, God will make his face to shine upon his people, he will show them grace and give them peace, through his Son Jesus Christ.

Thus, since God is our great reward, he should be the desire of our heart. We are to delight in him, to look to him as our greatest source of pleasure, and to find pleasure in doing his will. This takes me back to Piper's quote, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." I take it to mean that as we seek to find joy in God we are actually glorifying him. When we don't enjoy him, we dishonor him. We need to move beyond gratitude for the gifts, and grow in love with the Giver.

Joy is erupting all over my life. When I consider how blessed I have been with my family, my church family, my friends, etc., I can't help but to be driven to awe at the glorious grace of the Lord. To borrow from an old hymn, "Who am I that a king should bleed and die for?". Who am I that the Lord of glory would love me and show me such incredible kindness toward me. I am desperately pursuing the callings in my life--husband, father, pastor, teacher, friend--for the glory of the Lord. I want to know that God is pleased with me (not in the sense where I am trying to merit God's love and grace, but in the sense of a child who seeks to please his parents by obedience). I want to hear, "Well done! My good and faithful servant." As we pursue his glory, we experience greater joy.