Numbers 20:5-6–And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces…

Throughout the calendar year there are designated days of “appreciation”, whether that’s bosses, secretaries, teacher’s, pastor’s, mom’s, dad’s etc.  All such days point to how much we desire to be appreciated.  The feeling that people are thankful for what you do to serve them, can make serving people a delight and not a burden…

However having a spirit of ingratitude can quickly “melt” people’s resolve to serve.  Although a Christians calling is to be unconditional and faithful, to sacrifice and serve like Jesus. Israel’s failure to be thankful provoked Moses, who God called the humblest man in the world at the time (Numbers 12:3), to lose his patience and forfeit his opportunity to go into the promise land.

Moses and Aaron were trying to lead a people who were not thankful to God for leading them out of bondage.  At each test to trust the Lord, they found a way to be ungrateful and complain, because His ways never brought the pleasure of “old comforts”. They never embraced or appreciated their new reality, that they were freed slaves out of bondage from Egypt…

We all can relate to not being appreciated.  But we should also relate with not always appreciating Jesus and salvation like we should.  That being thankful has an overall attitude “that things may not be great, but they could be worse!”  That attitude causes me to think about what I am thankful for.  Unbelief always carries with it a hopeless spirit of desperation, “that things are all bad”, when really they are not…

Even if times are hard financially, or relationships may not be on the greatest of terms, remember your identity is in Christ, and allow your salvation to fill your heart with gratitude this Thanksgiving.-God Bless, Ld