Today’s hunting and gathering for new writers to recommend to you took us to Nicholas McNeill‘s blog, From Gideon to Jesus. (Twitter: @Designed4Impact). I just finished reading four of his devotionals and each was thoughtfully written. We chose this one, which you should read by clicking the header which follows. Then, after the article ends, we have some extra resources for you today.
Have we forgotten?
He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
God is the giver of all good things in our lives. We know this because of what we are told in Matthew 7:11. Sadly, many of us enjoy the good gifts that are given without ever acknowledging the giver. If we look around, the vast majority of people only give God credit for the “bad” things to happen in life. This is one of the biggest plagues of our culture when it comes to a proper view of who God is.
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.
It wouldn’t take long for anyone to realize that Israelite people continually did this during their journey out of Egypt. Not only did they do it after God freed them from Egyptian slavery, He continually did it throughout their lifetime. Time and time again God would do something amazing for them and they would quickly forget. There would be a short time of them giving God thanks and then it would fade into grumbling. We cannot let this be said of us. They saw so many amazing and miraculous things but still shook their fist at God.
There would be a short time of them giving God thanks and then it would fade into grumbling. We cannot let this be said of us.
Let’s not overlook the fact that “He humbled you…” is a key phrase in this passage. There will be times in life that God will allow circumstances to come into our lives to humble us. The big difference isn’t the circumstance, but instead, it is the reaction of a believer. When “negative” circumstances come into our lives most of our auto-responses would be grumbling, pleading for something different, or just straight up complaining. Maybe there is a better way of responding?
WHAT IF our automatic response is to ask God what He is wanting us to learn from this? I mean, if there is one thing that can cause us all to say WHAT IF it is this pandemic. In my county, we were able to open up for about a month or so, and as a youth leader, it was incredible! We are just starting to get kids coming back, momentum is growing and things are going great! Then boom…. we are put back on time out and can no longer meet inside.
From here, we have two reactions we can take. We can get frustrated and shake our fist at God OR we can pull ourselves back and ask God what manna He wants to provide for us… You see, for me… This concept has completely changed the way I live my life. God is the giver of all good things and He is the sustainer of life. If a “negative” thing comes into our life, we simply must sit back and ask God for clarity…
“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” – Charles Spurgeon
Extra resources for you today:
■ Sometimes we find longer blog posts than we’re able to run here, or the blog isn’t published under a Creative Commons license. The title, Hebrew Roots Mom caught my eye, as did this article, The Feast of Unleavened Bread vs. Passover: What’s the Difference?
■ Fuller Seminary in California recently posted some 2014 lectures given there by N.T. Wright. Each of the lectures and panel discussions is about an hour long. I’d recommend starting with this one on Paul’s Trinitarian Theology. (If you want your end times rapture view shaken up a little, check out the one on the future of the church. All were posted consecutively, so use the link to the channel and scroll back to the last week of November.)
■ Clint Archer has posted a longer piece at The Cripplegate delineating the five claims that Jesus made which would place him as equal with God. Check out Napoleon Syndrome.
Christianity 201 
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