December 3rd Devotion

When We Have Manna, but We Want Meat
By Deidre Braley

Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, ‘Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at. – Numbers 11:1-6

“God has given us very good somethings,” my Uber driver Sathe said as he drove me to the airport in the dark, quiet hours before dawn. He stopped briefly at a red light; I listened to his blinker tick in the pause. “Yes, people are sometimes grumbling when they get in the back of my car. They say, ‘I don’t have a good job, I only make $150 a day.’ And when they do, I ask them how they would like to make half a penny in a day, and then I say, ‘Did you remember to say thank you to God for the good somethings he has given you?’”

He went on. “People complain about our country, but I just want to say, ‘Look! We have a car to drive. We have a roof on our heads and food to eat. We have shoes on our feet! We have it very, very good here.’” I nodded my head as he spoke—and vigorously. I wanted him to know that I knew we were lucky, that I was thankful, that it was a privilege to live this life we had. I desperately wanted to share Sathe’s infectious gratitude.

But I also felt a little sheepish while I did because what Sathe couldn’t have known was that just last week I was begging God to give me just ‘a little more of this’ and a ‘better type of that.’” (And it might have also crossed my mind that I could go for a better daily wage, myself.) The truth is, I sometimes get swept away by such a sense of despondency that all I can see is what I don’t have—and all I can feel is the wanting. There are times when it doesn’t seem to matter that my husband is beside me and my three children are in their beds, and I have a heart that beats and a home that has heat, coffee, and light! I am so overcome by what I think I want that even my blessings taste sour.

It’s difficult to admit this; I’m nearly too ashamed to put such blatant disregard for God’s good gifts into writing, because here it can’t be excused—it must be reckoned with. But I think it’s important to bring up because I also get the sense that I’m not alone; from the passengers in Sathe’s Toyota Corolla to the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, it seems that we humans share this same type of burning in our bellies for more, always more.

If you read the story of the Israelites’ exodus and forty years of wandering in the Old Testament, you’ll soon see a pattern in their attitude (you can refer to Exodus 14-17, for starters). It generally goes like this:

1. The Israelites grumble about what they haven’t got and lose heart.
2. Moses appeals to God for them.
3. God provides.
4. The people rejoice.

For a little while, that is. Until they want or need the next thing—and the cycle begins anew. In the book of Numbers—many instances after God has already proven his faithfulness and provision for them—a select group of the Israelites begin to complain again, this time because they’re sick of eating manna and what they really want to eat is meat. As Numbers 11:4 puts it, “Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving.”

Notice what happens next: the handful of complainers who crave something that (in their eyes) is different or better than what God’s already given them effectively bring the whole congregation down with their dissatisfaction, too. Numbers 11:4-6 says:

“And the people of Israel also wept again and said, ‘Oh, that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.’”

When we diminish the provision God has given us and succumb to the burning in our bellies that whispers, “If only we had something different, we’d be satisfied,” it dishonors God, it robs us of our strength, and it ultimately brings our brothers and sisters down with us, too.

Intersecting Faith & Life:
So, what can we do when we feel the rumbling of our appetites for more-better-different? We remember that yes, perhaps it is our human nature to be dissatisfied (see Eve in the garden, Genesis 3:1-5), but it is also within our power to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We can pray a simple prayer asking God for help, one that sounds something like:

Here’s the good news: Just as our discontentment can be contagious, so can our gratitude. When we ask God to help wrangle our thought lives into submission and into a state of thankfulness, we can also propel the people around us towards his goodness—just like Sathe did for me.