From Grumbling to Thanksgiving

When the Egyptians came to the Red Sea to attack Israel, they had weapons. Israel had God, and He defeated Egypt. Do you think Israel trusted God after that? Not really. Moses listened to their whining and complaining, "What will we eat? What will we drink? Where is God? Where's the meat?" Sounds like a bunch of kids doesn't it?

I'm trying to get a picture of this: More than 600,000 people in the desert. No McDonalds, no Starbucks and no Diet Coke. I probably would have complained too. Yet God drew water out of a rock, manna from Heaven and quail flew into Israel's hands. The Israelite's clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

Application
We can be thankful because God really cares about His people. Jesus said, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:25-26 NIV)

Prayer
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for loving us and providing for us and protecting us. We could not live a minute or an hour or a day without your love. Amen.

Is This Really Necessary?

When I've arrived at church the last few Sundays, seeing the parking lot torn up, I asked myself, "Is this really necessary?" Knowing nothing about engineering or construction, that's an easy question for me. Then I reflected on the theme of the Sunrise Community Church restoration project--"Transformed Inside/Out," and asked the same question about the hardest area for me to cultivate in my spirit life--prayer. "Is this really necessary?"

I know the answer before I begin. Of course, it's necessary. I've witnessed great answers to prayer and experienced God's lavishing love. Yet, I find after spending time in God's word and recording lessons in my journal, when it comes time to pray, it's tempting to close things up and pray as I go on my way, and sometimes I do. Yet, God especially blesses me when I spend alone time, heart to heart time with Him.

The prayer team at church demonstrated to me the power of heart to heart prayer. Cheryl Marvelli, who also coordinates the watering of trees and plants during construction, said the faucet on the northeast side of the church leaked so badly, it was not usable. On one of their prayer walks, Cheryl and June Lake prayed over the faucet. Does God care about a faucet in the middle of a huge restoration project? Yes! He does.

That afternoon, Joe Hartin, who owns a pool service company, came to the church and volunteered to help with the watering. When he found out about the leaky faucet, he said, "I can fix that," and he did the same day Cheryl and June prayed.

I am encouraged to spend more alone time in heart to heart prayer with God, whether sitting at His feet or walking my dog. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for using Cheryl, June and Joe to help me grow inside-out. Amen.