Guard Yourself With Gratitude 

I’ve been reading the book of Numbers this week. There is always so much to think about as we read the account of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. It seems they were always complaining! They were never satisfied. Never content. 

No food? God gave them manna from heaven!

Not the food they wanted. Not like it was in Egypt.

They coveted meat. They lusted for it. 

God gave them quail (Numbers 11), so much so the description is quite disgusting, “But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you…”

But the people were not just complaining, they also questioned authority. They were jealous of the position and power that God had given Moses to lead them. They were not satisfied with the role God had given them. They wanted more–even Aaron and Miriam got caught up in this at one point.

In chapter 12, we see that Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses and said, “Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us (vs. 2)?” 

In chapter 16, it was the Kohathites.  “They gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord (vs. 3)?”

Each of these examples end with consequences from the LORD. Miriam’s temporary leprosy was the least of them. The other situations ended with large numbers of people losing their lives. They weren’t just complaining against Moses (and Aaron at times); they were complaining against the LORD. They weren’t just questioning Moses’s authority; they were questioning God’s authority. 

As I read through these examples this time, I couldn’t help but think of the word gratitude. 

If the people would have been grateful for their deliverance from Egypt, would they have been so quick to complain?

If they had been grateful for God’s provision on their travels, would they have been focused on the “flesh” they lacked?

If they had been grateful for the opportunity to serve the LORD in whatever role He had given them, would they have been jealous of Moses and Aaron (Moses’s answer in 16:9 is so good!)? 

As I thought about these questions (and more), I realized that gratitude guards my heart against so many sins! 

In “Pullin’ Weeds, Plantin’ Seeds” terminology, gratitude sows seeds of…

Contentment. 

Joy.  

Humility.

Peace.

Can you think of some others?