He Hears Everything
Hello Bride of Christ,
Attitude. It was not until I was in the midst of homeschooling my first child I realized how much attitude impacts our five senses and ability to think. All of a sudden I understood why fourth grade was so hard for me. I would go in each day with a long face, dragging my feet, trying every persuasive mechanism to convince my parents to not send me to school, and when they would not comply I would spend the next couple hours murmuring. The math may have been hard, but probably not as difficult as I made it out to be. The reading may have been a lot, but not as overwhelming as I made it feel. When my child would have a poor attitude I would notice everything shutdown. He was no longer able to hear and understand the words being spoken. He was unable to see details right in front of him. His mind would get cloudy and ultimately he would give up or claim defeat or worse yet sit there murmuring under his breath. As adults our attitudes still matter and impact our ability to learn and grow in this life school.
Today we will be looking at the book of Numbers Chapter 11. Please pause here and read the full chapter.
Numbers chapter 11 places us right in the midst of complaining people, "Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused."(Numbers 11:1) These were not just any random people. These were the children of Israel. The chosen people of God. The people the Lord had delivered from slavery. The people that had walked across the parted Red Sea. The people that experienced manna being provided from the dew of the day. All provisions and acts of God they acknowledged and witness, yet their attitudes were to just complain to each other. The result: the Lord heard their complaints and "so the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp."(vs1)
Once again, the children of Israel recognized this as an act of God, but instead of gaining an attitude of prayer they continued to whine and complain. "Then the people cried out to Moses." (vs2) Why? The children of Israel were spending too much time among the mixed multitude (vs4). The mixed multitude was made up of Egyptians who did not know the living God and who were not promised the land flowing with milk and honey. As a result, the mixed multitude were the ones given into an intense craving for meat which spread this complaining and whining attitude to the children of Israel (vs4). The attitude of complaining warped the children of Israel's reality. They began to think about times in Egypt but with false claims "...we ate freely in Egypt..."(vs5). How can a slave do anything freely? But the Lord heard all of these complaints (vs10).
However, Moses, when the people approached him with their cries and complaints, he immediately turned to God in prayer (vs2, 10). Notice Moses did not begin to join in the cries of the people and weep with them at the door of his tent. Instead he took his complaint and petition to God. Moses' attitude unlike the children of Israel was God solve my problem. God be God and help. "I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me." (vs14)
The Lord's response is very different towards Moses. The Lord affirms Moses and provided him seventy elders to carry the burden with Moses (vs17). Unlike the children of Israel who received God's consuming fire and quail plague (vs33). Why the difference?
Bride of Christ, the Lord desires we have an attitude of prayer. He hears all things. He hears your complaints to your friends disguised as a prayer request if you are not willing to pray to Him directly yourself. Moses had burdens, felt lonely, and weary. God does not expect us to not feel overwhelmed or desire something new. He just expects those who have witnessed His grace and power in their lives to come to Him and acknowledge Him in all their ways so He can direct their path (Proverbs 3:5-6). He desires those who have been sealed with His Holy Spirit to come to Him because they know He will hear them and answer. You are chosen, Bride of Christ, and therefor may your attitude of your heart reflect a chosen child of God. May the attitude of our heart be like Moses in that we know who to go cry out to for help or with a praise because we know we speak to a God who hears everything.
