Devotion 

Ingratitude 

Frances Taylor 

Every once in a while, I read a piece of Scripture that I'm sure I never read before, and yet I know I have. In this case, I know I have read the book of Numbers, in fact all of the Torah, completely, even the boring sections. But when I read this today, I realized that I had forgotten why the Israelites spent the forty years wandering in the desert. They had reached the land of Canaan in much less time than that and Moses sent out scouts to investigate the land. They spent forty days and came back with a glowing report of the land itself and evidence of the produce they found. However, some of the group brought back a report of savage people who would destroy them. They forgot all about God's goodness and power in bringing them out of Egypt and tried to find a new leader to bring them back to Egypt. For their rebellion, the forty days became the forty years and a new generation would claim the Promised Land. It made me think about the times I have rebelled and complained that I couldn't do what God wanted me to do, not trusting that he would be there for me just as he has been with me in the past. It made me wonder if my behavior has delayed God's plans from being achieved. I promise to do a better job of trusting in the power of God to be with me when the going gets tough.

Prayer 

Loving and forgiving God, thank you for being with me through the storms of my life and reminding me of the times that I have forgotten this, and giving me renewed courage for the storms to come. Amen.