March 8, 2010

It seems I have to be reminded on a regular basis not to grumble and complain!  How many times have I read these scriptures and still forget?  It is so easy to get disgruntled when what I see for the future doesn't match up to what seems to be taking place in the present.  I tire of the suffering, or just the long waiting, and forget that through these things, Christ is preparing me for what is to come.

The Israelites grumbled at the Lord in the wilderness, lacking in faith.  Even Moses doubted God's ability to provide meat for more than 600,000 people!  God's answer:  "Is the Lord's hand too short? (Is His power limited?)."  God proved again that it was not, even though He had proven Himself many times over.

I learned from the lesson in Mark that Jesus already has a plan of provision for us-- even if we are only in the preparation stage-- and He will give us detailed intructions, if we will listen.  Wouldn't you agree that following His instructions would be good preparation?  "So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal." Mark 14:16  He prepared them for preparation of a meal that would prepare them further for more preparation! 

Sometimes I get lost in the preparations, forgetting that there is a destination.  Or I get tired of the preparations and quit, despairing of ever getting to my goal.  If we quit, we'll never get there!  But if we'll remember that He Himself  is our true destination, we will keep our eyes on Him and abide in Him.  Thus we are already there and getting there all at once!

I believe that Mark also shows us a key for continuing in perseverance with faith, hope and love, instead of grumbling and complaining:  worship!  The woman with the alabaster jar of ointment is a wonderful example of what to do in a confusing time of preparation.  She obviously had an understanding of who Jesus was and what was going to happen.  She knew they were all going to go through an extremely trying time, and yet she gave sacrificially in an extravagant expression of heartfelt devotion, thanksgiving and trust for the future.  Jesus commended her for it with great enthusiasm, for it obviously pleased Him.

If the Israelites had remembered God's former deliverances and provisions rather than call to mind their former life and complain about the present, and if they had kept their eyes on "the prize"-- the Promised Land and the Giver of the Promise-- they would have remained in a place of thanksgiving and worship, trusting in the Lord and His goodness.  We have the same choices everyday, do we not?  I am reminded again to choose the attitudes and behaviors that please Him.