God set Israel apart and cared for all their needs. They didn’t want for anything.
And yet Israel wanted to be like the other nations. They wanted both God’s holiness and the ways of the world around them.
They fought God. He promised everything to them, if they so chose (Deuteronomy 11:26-29).
God provides all my needs, if I’ll let Him. Do I want to be a chosen race, God’s own possession? Yes, of course.
But do I fight God? Do I look at the world around me and want to be like them?
Do I worry? Am I dissatisfied, wanting more or different than what God’s provided? Do I call His provision good, or do I resent it in the face of worldly riches? Do I want both God and the world?
The Holy Spirit has put His finger on me lately in this area. It’s those little irritations that get me, feeling sorry for myself, wanting things, not being satisfied. There’s all this goodness He’s given and I find all the problems with it.
I want God. But I want things of this world too.
I’m irritable when I should be thankful. It’s like when it’s raining and I complain instead of being thankful for the watering of the earth and the time inside — time that I’ve been praying for. Now I have it and I complain. God gives me all I need, yet I complain.
God says to be thankful in all things. He never says to complain, or be irritable, or be dissatisfied.
There’s always more. I’ll always want more. I’ll want more of God; I’ll want more of the things this world offers. There’s always something to praise about, and there’s always something to complain about.
There’s also always enough. God is always enough. Do I want God alone? He is enough. Will I receive that? Or will I keep striving for the world?
Will I keep complaining or will I praise and thank my God? What will I choose?
Lord, let me say yes to You. Let me praise You and worship You. Let me be a living sacrifice. Let me live in You and You alone.
I want You alone.