To Be Full

Early on in our trip, with excited eyes our friend and guide, Brett, spoke of how we would see an amazing kind of faith in the homeless people we would encounter. They physically have so little, but that has drawn them nearer to God in many ways, and they see the miraculous things around them that you & I often miss. We saw this many times during our trip. Sweet, sun-worn faces reciting scripture, praising Jesus for their many blessings, and thanking us so genuinely for the meals we prepared and worship we shared. We saw Jesus like never before.

In my study as I've been home, I have been at a loss for where to begin... one book I'm reading led me to study the Israelites in the book of Numbers, chapter 11. This is the story in which the Israelites are sort of romanticizing their time in Egypt, crying out to God because they were tired of manna and wanted meat to eat. They went so far as to say that the many things they had in Egypt were 'at no cost'! Since when is captivity and slavery not a price?! In the verses that followed, God gave them what they asked for, so much so that they came to regret it.

Deuteronomy 8:3 says this of the manna "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." The author of my study had this to say "In the Israelites' case, they were offered the minimalist diet of manna so that their souls could feast on the Lord (remember, He didn't want them to live by bread alone). Instead, they craved the richness of quail while their souls starved."  Reading these two statements were where the *AHA!* moment came for me! I couldn't help but relate this to our homeless brothers versus us fat, homed Americans. (And no, I'm not talking about just our physical stature...) Brett spoke of the word of God being very 'Bright' to the homeless, seeing miracles... could it be that while we seem to have it all, our vision fails us and we don't see Him clearly? Our souls starve while we grow fatter, in fact wasting away?!  Psalm 106:5 in the King James Version says "He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul."

Has God ever given you something you asked for, only to find that it wasn't what you needed at all? Are you currently demanding something from Him, perhaps from your past, that you are romanticizing and not remembering clearly? I don't know if this hits you at all, but my sincere hope is that God helps me to step away from anything I am filling myself with that might not be beneficial. I want to see Him more clearly in all that I do (and He does!), and if that means restricting my 'diet', then so be it!