Team Johnston

At the beginning of the year, I started reading the Bible from the beginning. I'm now mid-way through Numbers, and have been having all sorts of epiphanies for the past few weeks.

The story of the Israelites is fascinating, to say the least. Prominence and status, slavery, escape, wandering...it's just as captivating as any novel (minus the descriptions of how to build the temple and ark of the covenant...yeesh...I struggled through that). What I'm stuck on right now, though, is just how forgetful the Israelites were.

As soon as they began grumbling and asking for something, God provided. Hungry? Here's some manna. Thirsty? How about some water from this rock. But then, a little time passes by, and they began grumbling again! They repeatedly forgot about all of the daily, ongoing blessings from the Lord!

As humans, we always want something more, something new, something in the future. But, as God's children, we should be grateful for the blessings we have today. How often I forget to thank him for the little things, simply because I'm waiting for the next big thing to happen. My life is wonderful...there is no question about that. I have an incredible husband, we have supportive and loving friends and family, we are physically and financially comfortable...the list could go on and on!

Why is it that I forget so easily?

In an effort to keep His blessings constantly in the forefront of my mind, I've begun to thank him daily for our home, our jobs, our family, our health, and all of the other parts of my life that I take for granted. I've started trying to pray like a child: the sweet prayer thanking God for trees, dogs, friends, and everything that pops to mind.

It's good to hope for future blessings and to pray for them. God wants us to ask Him because He is our provider. But I don't want to end up like a grumbling Israelite, forgetting about all of the past and present blessings that God has provided.