Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Let’s be mindful of what God provided before complaining about we want.

Today’s scripture, Numbers 11:4-6 (NLT), shares…
[4] Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. [5] “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. [6] But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”

Consider…
Sometimes people develop a revisionist history. They opine for the ‘good old days’. But if folks are honest, they’re selective memory is more about not liking what they’re experiencing now. Whatever they feel they’re lacking now makes them romanticize what they used to have.

Today’s scripture is a perfect illustration of everything I just described.

Because the people became tired of the same old manna, they began to fondly remember the free food they had as SLAVES. Funny, their bored taste buds made them forget Exodus 1:11-14 (NLT), which shares…
[11] So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. [12] But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. [13] So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. [14] They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.

And their appetite for different caused these ungrateful people to forget Exodus 2:23 (NLT) which says…
[23] Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.

How many of us forget the truth about where, and what, God has delivered us from, because of our desire for more now?

Despite the ingratitude, God responded with grace to these bad attitudes. Exodus 16:12-15 (NLT) shares…
[12] “I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’” [13] That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. [14] When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. [15] The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat.

I am so grateful that we serve a God who responds to our bad attitudes with mercy.

This makes me say with Psalmist of Psalms 116:5 (NLT)…
[5] How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!

Still, despite the kindness, goodness and mercy of God, the ungrateful people didn’t learn. As a matter of fact, God put an ingratitude warning label on their promised land entry. Moses said in Deuteronomy 6:10-12 (NLT)…
[10] “The LORD your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. [11] The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, [12] be careful not to forget the LORD, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

Reading that pressed play on Reverend James Cleveland singing…

When we get a little money and get up on our feet. Why do we change?

Whatever God gave you, it’s no more than you need. Why can’t you remain the same?

Today can be as bright as the noon day sun
Tomorrow you can wake up and everything you have is gone

Don’t forget to remember where all your blessings come from

I believe if we had more gratitude for the blessings we’ve received, we would be less prone to having bad attitudes about what we want.

Our gratitude matters to God. I know this because Luke 17:15-18 (NLT) testifies…
[15] One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” [16] He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. [17] Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? [18] Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

Everytime I read this verse I hear Kurt Carr singing…

I am the one
I am the one
I am the one that came back to say thank You Lord
For all that You’ve done
I’m grateful for everything You’ve done
I had to come back
My heart made me run back
And tell You thank you
Thank you, thank you
I had to come back
My heart made me run back
And tell You thank you

The Holy Spirit proceeded to ask, are you the one that will come back and tell God thank you? 🤔

I also know that gratitude is important to God because 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) exhorts us to…
[18] Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

That verse says it all.

Let’s always be grateful for what God has done, is doing and will do! And never hateful for the more we desire.

Paul gives us the secret to this mindset. He wrote in Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)…
[11] Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.
[12] I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. [13] For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Contentment in Christ’s strength is the key to living with gratitude instead of a bad attitude.

And if we do have something that we need, Paul instructs us in Philippians 4:6 (NLT)…
[6] Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Notice God wants us to tell Him what we need, AND thank Him for all He has done!

I believe one of the reasons the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to instruct us to ask and thank God at the same time is because, when we thank Him for what He’s done we will be inspired to have the faith to trust what He will do.

But if you’re still determined to have an attitude, I encourage you to make it one of gratitude.

Today’s song is…
Grateful

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)