Genealogy that Blows the Mind

We live in a generation of people who tend to blame DNA when people don’t turn out so well. We blame parents that carry that DNA and we blame parents that must have made a lot of mistakes raising their child in order for them to turn out this way.

If you read the whole Bible and learn the names of the characters throughout, when you read the genealogy of Jesus as Matthew presents it in his gospel, it will at least raise an eyebrow. Amongst the many great and good people in that genealogy, there are a number of questionable characters…

Take Tamar, for instance. She was the daughter-in-law of Judah. She pretended to be a local prostitute and seduced Judah and gave birth to Perez and a few generations later, Boaz was born. Boaz married Ruth, a Moabite.

Then there is Rahab who was a prostitute. She hid the spies that went into Jericho to spy out the land for Joshua. She lied to those looking for the spies in order to protect them.

Rahab was the great-grandmother of King David. Though David was a good king, he made a few bad decisions – adultery and murder to name a couple.

And down the line, came Mary and Joseph. That is the family God chose to bring His Son into the world. By our standards, Jesus would have had every right to act out and be a ‘messed up’ character. Yet He did not. He lived a holy and sinless life. I wonder what made the difference…

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.” John 13:3-5

Jesus knew who He was. He knew where He came from, what His purpose was here, and where He was going. Because His purpose was so clear, He was able to live a sinless life – even in human flesh! Do we even begin to understand who He is and what He did? Our Holy God sent His only Son to be born into a genealogy of sinful flesh which He overcame because He knew who He was and what His purpose was.

Now He is interceding for us at the throne of grace because He totally understands us and everything we deal with in this world. “… but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them… But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” Hebrews 7:24-25, 9:26b-28

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” John 3:16-17 This gift of salvation He has given us cost Him so much. But His love is so great.

This is the One whose birthday we celebrate December 25. While am so very busy doing all kinds of good things to celebrate Christmas, I want to take time to focus on Jesus, who He is, His purpose in coming into the world, and what He did for me because His goal is that no one would perish, but that everyone would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9) and that we would join Him in His Father’s house (John 14:1-4) and live with Him forever.

Thank you, Jesus. And Happy Birthday!

Be Glorified

“Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that they had done these things.” John 12:16

For some reason, as I read these verses this morning, the word “glorified” jumped out at me. I wonder, what does it mean to be glorified? Miriam-Webster Dictionary says, “Glorify: to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration to elevate to celestial glory; to light up brilliantly; to cause to be or seem to be better than the actual.” Strong’s Hebrew translation says, “to make glorious, adorn with luster, clothe with splendor; a) to impart glory to something, render it excellent; b) to make renowned, render illustrious; 1) to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged.

What struck me is the wording John chose. He is referring to Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. So I wonder, what does it mean to be glorified and what does it take to get there? We tend to think of glorifying as a positive, lovely, happy thing using words like ‘light up’ or ‘elevate’ or ‘honor’. And they are all true meanings. But Jesus didn’t get there without any troubles in this world! He first “spent His life” (see Isaiah 58:10) meeting the needs of the poor and oppressed, teaching, healing, and loving all who became part of His everyday life. That elevated Him to a position of being noticed by the religious authorities who were jealous and hard hearted. They made life difficult for Jesus and tried to block Him at every turn until they finally succeeded in killing Him using a tortuous death by hanging on a cross. He was betrayed by even His closest friends. How could John possibly refer to that as being ‘glorified’?

John could use the word ‘glorify’ only because the story didn’t end there. When people in this world had done every conceivable terrible thing they could to Jesus including killing Him, God used even that to bring His glory to the situation. He raised Jesus from the dead! I like the last Strong’s Hebrew meaning of the word: “to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged.” Whether or not we acknowledge Jesus Christ here and now, a day will come when “every knee will bow” (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10). He is and will be glorified!

For all the troubles we can endure in this life, nothing compares to what Jesus Christ had to deal with in this world. But Paul tells us that, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 That joy, knowing that God was going to bring glory out of the tragedy of the cross, was what caused Jesus to move forward through all of the pain. His joy isn’t only in His own glory, but Jesus said in His prayer in John 17, “I have given them [all who believe] the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.” John 17:22

When I am dealing with the troubles in this world, I need to keep my eyes on Jesus. He alone knows and understands every ill that can befall a person and how to endure it – keeping my focus on the joy of my salvation and the glory that is to come through Jesus Christ when we are together in eternity.

Lord, may Your glory be made known through my life on this earth. All thanks and praise be to You, the Living God, forever and ever.

Flimsy Walls and Whitewash

One of my vivid memories growing up was watching my grandfather whitewash the side of the barn and the milk house on his farm. Whitewash went on fast and it made everything look so neat and clean. But in the end, well, it was still a barn!

In the days of Israel when Ezekiel was prophesying, there were also many false prophets telling the people all was well. Ezekiel was telling the people the truth – that God’s judgment was coming and he would no longer tolerate their idolatry. He was calling their hearts back to God. But they were a rebellious people and were encouraged in their idolatry by the false prophets. Ezekiel told them that they were building flimsy walls and whitewashing them and that those walls would not last when God’s judgment would fall on the people. (Ezekiel 13-14)
It is easy to say, “Foolish people! You should have listened to Ezekiel and to God.” But then I begin to wonder… Is it possible we are building flimsy walls and whitewashing them? If so, what might that look like?

I have been reading a book entitled, “Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People,” by Will Metzger. Sometimes what the author says is very unsettling. He begins his chapter on grace by quoting Cornelius Plantinga, Jr, “For the Christian church (even its recently popular seeker services) to ignore, euphemize, or otherwise mute the lethal reality of sin is to cut the nerve of the gospel. For the sober truth is that without full disclosure on sin, the gospel of grace becomes impertinent, unnecessary, and finally uninteresting.” In other words, if we are not aware of our sin, we have no understanding of our need of a Savior.

When is the last time you or I have had a conversation with someone about sin. Have we forgotten that God is a Holy God, that He is righteous, good, and does not tolerate idolatry of any kind? I wonder if we have lost sight of that because He is a forgiving God full of mercy and grace – that we assume forgiveness and go about sinning without understanding the consequences. If our ‘whitewashed flimsy walls’ keep us from understanding our desperate need for help, we can’t begin to understand what Christ did for us and continues to do on our behalves through His death and resurrection.

If we actually get even a glimpse of that, how can our hearts be anywhere but fully devoted to the God who saves us? Yet we find ourselves devoted to many other things (whitewashed flimsy walls) and giving God only marginal time and attention. And so I ask myself, who/what am I devoted to? If I am willing to address that question and listen and watch for God to show me, I will see the idolatry in my life that is first and foremost sin that needs to be repented of and as I seek God’s forgiveness and experience His grace, I will become more devoted to Him and other things will take their proper place.

In this day and age when ‘truth’ is whatever we want it to be, God’s Truth still stands. His Truth is the only wall that is not flimsy and whitewashed and will not be crushed by His righteous judgment. Whether or not we seek His Truth is up to each of us as individuals. We, like Adam and Eve in the garden, try to hide from Him, but He pursues us and has provided a way to fully restore us into right relationship with Him because He loves us deeply. I am truly grateful for His grace that is active in my life daily. As I become more fully devoted to Him, I want that grace to be active in the lives of others as well – to see His Kingdom grow. “… Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”

Breath of Life

Recently, a friend’s daughter-in-law passed away suddenly in her sleep. Cause of death was a mitral valve prolapsed. As people express concern for the young family and talk about the tragedy, one of the things that comes up is, “There is medical treatment for that. Why wasn’t it treated?” or “Lots of women have that, everyone should get checked out and get medical treatment.” This is a common response to deaths of anyone under the age of 80 who dies from a medical condition. But it doesn’t bring much comfort to a grieving family.

In a world without God, those responses would make perfect sense – especially if the person speaking had no knowledge of what had or had not been done to treat the condition. It is an expression of trust in the medical profession. However, as followers of Christ, I wonder a lot about that response. Following are some of the reasons.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ” Psalm 139:13 Doctors and the medical knowledge are limited and fallible. They did not create you and they do not know everything about how our bodies function. They know a lot and they can be helpful in some situations, but they are not God!

“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.” II Chronicles 16:12 Asa had been one of the good kings of Judah. Yet in his last years, he refused to ask God for help with his diseased feet, but depended only upon physicians. The writer of this Scripture does not draw any conclusions, but rather just states the facts. I am convicted by this verse when many times I turn to over-the-counter drugs or run to the doctor for an illness and don’t seek help from the LORD unless the doctor’s help isn’t helping. As I ponder this, I believe that doctors have their place, but God is the true Healer and we need to include Him in the healing process – always – no matter the severity. “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?” Isaiah 2:22 Why do we trust in humans who receive life rather than in the God who gives life?

“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 Life comes from God. God breathed life into Adam and then Adam became a living being. Human beings are capable of taking life away. Cain showed that early in Genesis when he killed Abel. But only God can give life and sustain life. “In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:10 “And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17:25

“You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before You. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” Psalm 39:5 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” Psalm 39:4 “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14 “A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.” Job 14:5 

I wonder then, do I truly trust God when it comes to my life and breath and the lives of those I love? Do I trust Him as He numbers my days? Do I trust Him when He numbers the days of those I love – even if they are shorter than the days I think they should have?

And as I wonder about the length of my days, I wonder why does God give more days to one person than another? Why did God give more days to John than to Peter? “Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.’” John 21:22 So it seems that how long we live in reference to another is not as important as what we do with the life God gives each of us today.

When Jesus walked on this earth, His focus was on eternity. He came to restore us to a right relationship with God so that we could live with Him forever. Our perspective on life totally changes when we focus on eternity instead of day to day ‘life’ in this world. What am I doing with the breath that God gives me each day? Is it preparing me and others for eternity or am I spinning my wheels in the mud going nowhere. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Lord, teach me to use the days that you give me wisely. As we suffer the tragedies in this world, help us to keep our eyes on eternity – on You. For life comes from You and eternal life is the gift of hope You give to us as we grieve tragic losses in this world. Thank You that You do not leave us alone but that You give us a Comforter in Your Holy Spirit and in others who walk with us and support us when we are too weak to handle things on our own. Lord, I have found so much healing as I trust and worship You. My prayer is that others who are suffering would find healing in their relationship with You as well. I praise You for the life You have given to me. I will praise You with the breath that You give me each day on this earth. I love You Lord. Amen.

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.” Psalm 150:6

The God of Emotions

I wake up slow… on a good day it takes about 2 hours before I feel that I am fully functioning. I have learned how to compensate through the years so that I don’t do too much ‘dumb’ stuff like brush my teeth before eating breakfast. I have established routines and lay things out in order so I progress correctly. Today I was wishing that I woke up with exuberant energy, ready to take on every task imaginable (and I do have a great imagination when it comes to how much I could get done in a day). And then I got to wondering… do I have a low level depression? Is that why I am so slow to get going in the morning? And from there the “mind train” went from thinking about how God effects my emotions to thinking about God’s emotions.

Through the Bible, God’s emotions are expressed in His interactions with people. In Genesis 3, it doesn’t say that God is angry or sad, but His actions would indicate He was angry with the serpent for deceiving Eve and He was sad that Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be deceived. I don’t think God didn’t know where Adam and Eve were or that they had had eaten the fruit. He asked them in order for them to be able to confess what they had done because He knew they needed to be able to do that in order to find out how God felt about what they did and how He was going to respond. There were definite consequences for each of their actions, but God responded in compassion, making clothes for Adam and Eve.

In the days of Noah, “the Lord was grieved that He had made man.” Genesis 6:6  The consequences for the wickedness of the people was the flood that took out all but Noah and his family. After the flood, “God blessed Noah and his sons,” Genesis 9:1  The word ‘blessed’ has a happy feel to it and sometimes is interpreted as happy.

Most of us would agree as we read the Old Testament that there are times when God is angry, happy, sad, proud, concerned, compassionate, etc. Yes, I believe God has emotions. And since we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27), it is pretty clear that we will have emotions as well. In fact, emotions are addressed in the Bible from time to time… “In your anger, do not sin,” Psalm 4:4… “Love your neighbor as yourself,” Leviticus 19:18… “But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.” Psalm 68:3… And then there is one of the most quoted today, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

And then I wonder… What was Jesus doing in the Garden of Gethsemane the night He was arrested? “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:44 This looks a whole lot like anxiety to me. Yes, I believe that Jesus was feeling the emotion of anxiety. It is very important for me to see, then, how Jesus is dealing with that emotion. He is praying earnestly! The more emotion we feel, the more we need to pray. Unfortunately, our human nature is to pull back from God and blame Him for our emotion rather than looking accurately at where the emotion is coming from and going to God for the strength to get through it. But Jesus clearly shows us that we can get through the greatest anguishing anxiety through prayer. Interesting that the most quoted Bible verse on anxiety says the same thing… “by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6  This is followed by, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 Jesus knew what it was to feel that great anxiety. He knew what to do with it. And He promises that same transcending peace if we will do the same: Pray trusting that God is going to do what is best. 

After His prayer, Jesus suffered through the crucifixion. But He knew what was on the other side and that brought Him great joy – even as He suffered. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2  Later, Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21  Trusting that only the greatest good will follow whatever brings us anxiety is how we overcome the anxiety.

I don’t believe it is wrong to feel emotions – whatever they are – but rather, it is what we do with those emotions that becomes important. God’s great peace is waiting for us. We need only to ask. Some days we need to ask a little more often than others, but it is always there waiting for us if we will accept it. I am so thankful I have a God whose loving concern for me includes peace even when I am troubled. He provides strength when I am weak. (Isaiah 34:4) We often think of that as physical strength, but I believe it includes emotional strength as well.

Thank you, God, for giving me emotions and for showing me how to deal with them when they become overwhelming. Thank you for your peace that comes and ‘overwhelms’ the emotion, stabilizing and returning me to peace regardless of my circumstances. You are truly worthy of my praise and I praise you today and forever. Amen.

Sing a New Song

Isaiah 42 contains the prophecy of the coming of Jesus. As I try to put myself back in the towns and villages in the time of Isaiah, I find a people who have lost sight of their God. They have a history full of amazing things God did for them, and while many of them still follow the letter of the law they were given, they don’t really know why they do this. It is their culture. They do it because it is what they do. But they have come to trust in themselves and in other nations and their gods. And their true God has gotten lost in their many gods. Through Isaiah, God said to them, “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.” Isaiah 42:8

God’s love for His people is so evident in the prophecies of Isaiah. He pleads with the people to turn their hearts and minds back to the Lord. This prophecy implores the people to remember their God and return to Him. “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness. I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open the eyes that are blind, to free the captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Isaiah 42:6-7

Isaiah says it’s time to sing a new song to the Lord. “Sing to the lord a new song, His praise to the ends of the earth…” Isaiah 42:10 And God promises, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them. I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

As he continues on, Isaiah tells the people they will go through some rough times. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:2-3a His promise is not that they will not have difficulties, but that He, their Savior, will walk with them each step of the way. All of Exodus shows us just how closely and intimately God walked with the Israelites in the past. What we see there is the physical experience of ‘God with us’. Isaiah prophesied and we now live in a time when God has demonstrated and promised His presence with us through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

When we awake each morning, the promise is here for us. God will walk with us. We are not alone. Whether it is a ‘happy’ day or a day filled with pain and anguish, God does not abandon us. He constantly reaches out to us with His strength and comfort, loving us in ways we cannot fathom. But there is something we must do in order to receive that. We must look to Him and reach out to Him. And because He is the Great I Am, the Creator and Master of the universe, when we look to Him, we will sing a new song!

I often join the birds in the morning and sing worship and praise songs to my Abba Father. They are usually songs others have written and I have learned from singing them in church or hearing them on the radio or CD. This morning, God gave me a new song. It is a song that comes out of the waters and the fires I have been walking through knowing that my God is with me. He goes before me, He walks with me and He is my rearguard.

A New Song to Abba

You are my strength, You are my song;

I sing a new song all day long.

When things come I would not choose;

You are my song in morning dews.

When I arise, I look to You,

And praise Your Name even when I’m blue.

I know Your hands hold all that comes,

As surely as the rising sun.

You’ll go before, prepare the way;

And carry me through, each thing today.

You fill me with Your truth and love,

Prepare my heart from things above.

As day goes on, things steal my mind;

So much to be and do I find.

Yet You will call me to Your knee;

And hold me fast and comfort me.

When evening comes, when shadows fall,

I come to You, on You I call.

I take each thing that I have done,

And pray it glorifies Your Son.

You are my strength, You are my song;

I sing a new song all day long.

When things come I would not choose;

You are my song in morning dews.

A New Perspective

It has been a while since I have taken the time to put down in words my journey and my thoughts and inspirations. But it is time again. As I sit in my ‘special place’ and look around me, I notice that for the first time I can ever remember, I feel a bit ‘crowded’ by the trees and plants in the full bloom of summer. Through the winter months, I have enjoyed seeing the sky. I get up every morning and look out at the sky and talk with God. But I can’t see much of the sky in my little ‘haven’ of green. Previously, I have completely enjoyed ‘hiding out’ in my little green world behind our house. I wonder what has changed… What is it I am looking for in the sky that I miss when trees are in full leaf?

As I ponder this, I realize that I am constantly scanning the sky looking for Jesus to return and I feel crowded by the trees because I can’t see as much of the sky and fear I won’t see Him as quickly. As I struggle to put things in perspective, I realize that my perspective has changed. Rather than hoping the Lord won’t return before I have time to …, I long for Him to return and take us all to live with Him in Heaven.

In Luke 14, Jesus tells the parable of the Great Banquet. The master prepares a great feast and invites many to come. But they begin to make excuses – I bought a new field and need to check it out, I got some new oxen and want to try them out, I just got married and don’t have time. All these things that seem so important to us in this world distract us from the 'feast' prepared for us. It is not that any of them are wrong. They just pale in contrast to what God sees as important. 

In the parable, the master becomes angry at those who refuse to come. He sends his servant out to find all the poor, the blind, the lame. And when there is still room, he sends the servant out to the highways and byways to find anyone who will come. While we are busy being good people with big plans, all doing good things, God is gathering those who will listen for His voice and come to His banquet table. He is growing His kingdom person by person – those who are not too preoccupied with this life to come.

Yes, my perspective has changed. While I live in this world and need to ‘function’ in it each day, I’m spending time at the Master’s banquet table, I’m listening for His voice and watching for Him to return. The things in this world are just that – things. The things of God are eternal.

“It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when He comes.” Luke 12:37

In the Middle of the Desert

When the journey gets long, people begin asking, “Are we soon there?” Children sometimes begin whining and complaining. A wise parent has packed away a few ‘new’ things to pull out to distract them for a while and make the trip go faster for them. It is the middle of the journey that seems the longest and hardest and tries the patience of all – leaders and followers alike. The Israelites were no exception. 

Egypt was far enough behind them that they forgot about the excessive hard work and the bondage of slavery. They remembered only the good food they had to eat – and the variety of it. Now, in the desert, though they were free from bondage and on their way to the Promised Land, they were getting bored with manna and began to crave other food. They complained and wailed until the “Lord became exceedingly angry and Moses was troubled.” Numbers 11:10b I wonder if Moses was ‘troubled’ because of the wailing or because he wasn’t sure whether God had just enough of it and was going to wipe them all out. 

Moses’ patience was tried to the max and he asked God what he had done to displease Him that He would put the burden of all these people on him. In fact he went on to say, “If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now – if I have found favor in your eyes – and do not let me face my own ruin.” Numbers 11:15 As a leader (who was reluctant to begin with), Moses’ frailty became most apparent in this stressful situation. God understood that He had asked Moses to do a pretty big thing and had been present with Him all the way. 

In His tenderness, God once again looked out for Moses. He had provided Aaron to help Moses get started. Now He provided 70 elders to help share some of the burden of the people. Though God could have done it with Moses alone, He allowed for Moses’ human frailty, his need for human support in managing this body of people. 

Then God turned back to the people and told them to get ready because He was going to give them what they asked for until they had so much they would begin to hate it “– because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” Numbers 11:20 The people had lost sight of following God and were focused on what they didn’t have instead of what God had provided and where He was leading them. 

The word ‘rejected’ seems strong – yet I wonder how quickly I ‘reject’ God’s promises and focus on my circumstances. Even Moses wondered how God was going to give these people meat. There wasn’t enough livestock among them to feed them all and hunting wasn’t too good in the desert. “The Lord answered Moses, ‘Is the Lord’s arm too short?’” Numbers 11:23

In this moment of stress, Moses lost site of the power of God to do what He set out to do. His circumstances were yelling pretty loudly and his hearing of God’s voice was dimmed by the wailing of the people around him. It was the middle of the journey. The people ‘craved’ meat over following the Lord to the Promised Land. They lost sight of the goal and were focused on their immediate circumstance.

I wonder how often I lose sight of the goal in the middle of a journey. I am easily distracted and sometimes forget I even have a goal. That is when circumstances become overwhelming. If I lose sight of the goal, I can no longer determine what is worth my attention and what needs to be ignored. I can no longer determine what I need for the journey and begin to crave things I don’t need. If I lose sight of God leading in my life, my cravings will take over. 

God gave the Israelites what they wanted – meat in the form of quail. But with it came a plague that killed many of them. “Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah [means graves of craving] because there they buried the people who had craved other food.” Numbers 11:34

 

I look around me and I wonder how many people are driven by their craving rather than their worship and obedience to God. And I look at the things people crave – love, attention, food, drugs, alcohol, pornography, gossip, electronics, and so much more – and I wonder how many are buried in graves of craving – figuratively or literally. And I ask myself, what is it I crave? If it is anything other than seeking the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and strength, where will it lead me? 

Every day I make choices. I can choose to follow my God – even if the journey is long and goes through a desert or two – or I can choose to follow my cravings to an early grave. Lord, please give me wisdom to see and identify the cravings and step back from them, knowing that You alone are God and You alone can fulfill all of my needs. Amen.