The Israelites

So I've been reading through Numbers for my Old Testament class and most of Numbers is about how the Israelites were blessed by God in the desert, then complained, then were cursed, then repented and were blessed again.

My professor warned us to not think too lowly of them. Upon startng this book, I wanted to beg different. I was thinking "Good Lord, here they go again, whining wbout manna, whining that they have no meat, whining that it's hot, whining, whining, whining."

Until I realized I am just like them.

I am a child of the Lord, and am very blessed. My life is far from perfect, as am I, but I tend to whine about the same things. God comforts me, and sets me straight, and I whine again. I tend to have the Gideon mentality, where he put out the fleece and asked the Lord if the fleece was wet, and the ground underneath was dry, that he would believe God. God did this. So Gideon, then asked the Lord if the ground was wet, and the fleece was dry that he would believe God. Again, the Lord answered his requests.

I am so stubborn, and ask the Lord repeatedly what to do, and when He answers, I doubt. When I doubt, and He answers again, I'm still skeptical. This happens until I repent, and then when something happens that wasn't in my plan, or that isn't in my timeframe, I whine, and whine, and whine.

So, I am a) learning to not be like the Israelites and b) be more compassionate when I'm reading about them, because I'm a whiner too.