Thankful in Times of Difficulty – Part 2 of 4

Not very long afterwards, while standing on the outskirts of the Promised Land, the Israelites were faced with another test. Now God had previously promised them that the land that they were going to inherit would already be well established. They would live in houses that they hadn’t built with their own hands and enjoy vineyards that they hadn’t planted. Their scouts confirmed that the land was well inhabited and tremendously fruitful. They’d never seen anything like it in all their lives. However, when they saw the strength of the peoples in the land that God had promised them, they lost courage, and they lost hope.

The Israelites lost their courage and hope, because they hadn’t been practicing a grateful attitude. When things didn’t go their way, they would give Moses a piece of their mind. They even threatened to stone him. If they had taken the time to thank God for past breakthroughs, then they would have been more inclined to recognize His protection, His favor, and His power in their lives.

Have your eyes been focused on problems rather than on God’s blessings? Just as eating right and exercising protect your physical health, taking time to thank God for what He’s done in your life will protect your spiritual health. As you practice a thankful attitude on a daily basis, it’ll be easier to notice the silver lining in the dark clouds of difficulty. You might be surprised to find that your difficulties aren’t as bad as you had previously imagined.

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Thankful in Times of Need - Part 2 of 4

Humans are creatures of habit. We like the security of the familiar, so the unfamiliar can be a scary place. Egypt was a familiar place to the Israelites. They had been in slavery for a few hundred years and were used to relying on their oppressor’s resources. Of course it was a place of terrible slavery, but at least they had access to plenty of food and water.

They could see, hear, feel, taste, and touch Egypt, but they couldn’t do the same with God. It made more sense to rely on man’s resources, even if it came from the hand of the Egyptians, rather than from the hand of God. You see, the idea of supernatural provision just didn’t make much sense to them. Since they didn’t believe that God would continue to look after them, they began to complain bitterly. Instead of having faith in the invisible God (who had demonstrated His abilities and favor toward them), they had fear of the visible desert.

Don’t we also find comfort in what’s familiar to us? There’s a strong sense of security in a steady job and income. Even if the pay is low, it’s better than the feeling of not knowing where and when the money will come from next. What if God asked us to give up that steady income, move from our home with our family, and go to a place that we’ve never seen? Before going out into the unknown, we would have had a certain amount of security and control over our lives. If that were taken away, all we would have left would be God and His love and mercy.

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