Miracle after miracle, that is really what life is. From the miracle of birth to the miracle of growth and the miracle of speech and the miracle of seeing a sunset. There are miracles all around us. And yet, we are people who “crave other food.”
In Numbers 11, God’s people who had been rescued from the bonds of slavery in Egypt were wondering the desert. There would have been no way for them to live in the desert for as long as they did, if God hadn’t provided food for them. And that is exactly what God did. Every morning food would come down from the sky and it was always enough for them to live on! They didn’t have to hunt it or grow it or cultivate it. It just floated down from heaven and they called it “manna.” To all parents reading this: can you imagine not having to go grocery shopping or to worry about what to make for dinner? Wouldn’t that be a miracle? The only problem is that the Israelites missed that miracle. They didn’t appreciate it for what it was. They complained about the taste, and as verse 4 above says, they “began to crave other food.”
Now, I understand that craving and I understand their complaints. Sadly, I have a feeling that I would probably be complaining right alongside them if I were there. I know that because my situation isn’t half as bad and I still complain. I’m stuck in my home. I’m worried about the future. I’m worried about family and friends. I am waiting and waiting for God to just show up and send me a miracle!
But has he? Are we people who are missing miracles all around us?
What about this miracle… Right now, I am pushing an assortment of buttons with letters on them that are being wirelessly transmitted into a box that projects the very same letters on a screen! In a minute (that is after the box corrects my spelling errors), I will send these words in a packet of information, which is really just a complex list of 1s and 0s, at the speed of light from my box to your box (or maybe your really small box that fits in your pocket). Somehow your box can decode those 1s and 0s and turn them back into the very same letters that I was pushing. Now, that is a miracle. And do I even try to explain video conferencing?
Think about how much worse this could be without these little miracles of technology. What if we couldn’t order food and have it delivered to us? What if we couldn’t watch a sermon online? How much worse would this be?
LIVE THE STORY
Today, take some time to notice the miracles all around you. How many miracles can you recognize today? Instead of complaining about your circumstances, don’t forget about the manna right in front of you.
Josh Rose
Pastor of Adult Ministries