"Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." - Psalm 105:4

As God led the Israelites out of Egypt toward the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey, we repeatedly see a pattern of Israelites murmuring and complaining whenever they are in need. They grumble when hungry, and God satisfies them with manna and quail. In the very next chapter, they again quarrel when they are thirsty, and God gives them water from a rock. Over and over again, we see the Israelites behaving this way, despite God providing for them each time and even punishing and correcting them for their murmuring and complaining. It gets so bad that at one point, they look back at Egypt the very land of their slavery and call it a land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 16:13).

This tragic pattern of discontentment and ingratitude is a warning for us today. Though we leave our old lives and are made new in Christ, if we focus only on His provisions, we too, like the Israelites, can come to a point where our former life of slavery to sin seems better during times of suffering and pain. Psalms 105:45 reveals why God gave Israel the Promised Land “so that they might keep His precepts and observe His laws”. And this is exactly what God desires out of our own lives too.

• Do we come to God only desiring His providence in times of need?
• Do we truly find ourselves mesmerised by His holiness and glory?

While God is faithful to fulfil all our needs, His desire for our lives is to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first. And we can do that fully trusting that He cares for us more than anyone else ever can.

Prayer: Help us to not seek Your hand but Your face, O God! Open the eyes of our hearts to see Your glory and help us to live in awe of who You are. Amen

Written by Sis. Sharlet Hannah Wilson