Grumbling In The Desert

“I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." – Genesis 17:8.

Father, today we take note of the children of Israel who wandered in the desert for 40 years on a trip that should have taken 11 days.  Their idolatrous and ungrateful hearts kept most of them from ever seeing the fulfillment of Your promise. Yet, even in their grumbling, You provided their daily bread.  Their clothing and shoes did not wear out and their feet did not swell (Neh 9:21).  Even in their rebellion, You remained faithful and met their needs.  And You blessed those who were faithful to You in return, by allowing them to step foot into the promised land. 

We do not want to wander in our desert for 40 years, Lord.  We do not want our final days spent outside of the gate of Your promise.  We repent of our grumbling and complaining hearts that are never fully satisfied.  We renounce the gods we turn to comfort instead of You. We decide again today to worship and thank You for Your grace that saves us and Your mercy that spares us.  We thank You for our many blessings.  We praise You that whether it is a little or a lot, it will miraculously be enough. 

You know full well what we are going through, Lord.  We say, “Yes and Amen!”  While we would not ask for struggle and pain, we want to honor you in our struggles and afflictions.  In accordance with James 1:2, we welcome our troubles as friends.  We invite them to do a maturing work in us, developing our faith, patience and endurance, so we will lack nothing.  Help us to not fight against these trials that You have assigned to be our faithful teachers.  May we remember them with fondness, as the tools You used to shape us into the image of Your Son.  Empower us to stand and reject the temptation to grumble, that we will receive the promised crown of life (James 1:12). Do a good work in us, Lord.  And may the overshadowing cloud of Your presence lead us out of the desert toward Your promised land.  In Jesus Name ❤️

Dear friend, do you find yourself wandering in your own desert of suffering?  Often what the Lord intends as a short test followed by blessing, becomes a long test, ushered in on the coattails of grumbling.  Are you ready to begin praising Him in your desert?  Worship can redirect your heading in the right direction.  💡

If you have been encouraged or challenged, please repost and further His kingdom!