missing the blessings

Sometimes I read the Bible and God holds something up in front of me like a mirror and it what I see makes me cringe.

This morning, I was reading about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. In the first three verses of Numbers 21 they asked God to give them a victory over a pagan nation, and he did. And then, in the very next verses (4 and 5) I read this:

“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’"

My first thought was, “Waa, waa, waa. What a bunch of babies!” Then I heard my own words in my head, from just a few hours before: “I am so sick of shoveling this stupid driveway!” That’s the driveway of my brand new house, the one I moved into two weeks ago. 

I whine about my job, which is a great job. I complain about a busy schedule, which means I have friends and family who want me around, and I have the means and opportunities to go places and do things. I gripe about my aches and pains, when in fact my health continues to impress my doctors year after year. As a friend used to say, some days I’d bitch about ice cream being too cold.

When the Israelites treated God’s blessings that way, in the passage I read today, he sent poisonous snakes to bite them to death. What does he think of my reaction to this wonderful life he’s given me?

This is indeed amazing grace. He saved me, he provides for me, me blesses me beyond any reasonable expectation. And when I behave like a petulant child, he just gives me more.