Posted on by intentional4christ

Miracles in the mundane

In the last few weeks of my bible study, I have been journeying with the Israelites through the book of Exodus as God delivers them mightily from their slave masters, the Egyptians. With mighty miracles and 10 great plaques, each subsequent one more severe than the former, God rescued the Israelites from the hands of their oppressors. After the last plaque, the Israelites had become such a nuisance to the Egyptians that they begged all of them to get out! Even in that chaos, God made the Egyptians so favorably disposed to the Israelites that they showered them with gifts (Exodus12:36)! Talk of an unbelievable turn of events!

For a people who had been in slavery for 430 years, can you imagine what the last few days before their freedom was like? With miracle after miracle, no two days were similar and the Israelites were in awe of God! Frogs one day, darkness the next, and yet another day they were walking on dry land in the middle of the Red Sea! With Egypt behind them and the Promised Land before them, here they were in the desert where they would spend another 40 years.

One month and fifteen days into the journey, the Israelites were still in the desert, starving and craving food from Egypt. They very quickly forgot all the miracles they had witnessed not too long ago and complained against Moses and God. In response, God rained down manna, a white flaky substance which tasted like honey wafers, from heaven for them for 40 years so they always had food to eat.

For 40 years, the Israelites had a new normal. They had to wake up first thing in the morning before the sun got hot, walk around and gather up two quarts each of manna for everyone in their tent. They would then grind the manna on a hand mill or crush it in a mortar. After which they boiled it in a cooking pot or shaped it into cakes and baked it (Numbers 11:7), and that would make up a part of their sustenance for the day. The habit of waking up, gathering their manna for the day and preparing it had become so routine and so mundane that they forgot the miracle of the manna.

Exodus 16: The manna came down with the dew first thing in the morning and as the sun came up the manna would melt so it was not in their way as they went about their daily activities (vs. 21). They picked up their food from the dusty desert floor and yet it was clean and healthy to eat. Whether a person gathered a lot or a little, everyone in the household had just enough when they measured out how much had been gathered (vs. 17). Manna only came six days of the week with enough on the sixth day to last for two days, giving them a chance to rest on the Sabbath (vs. 29). If they kept manna overnight it was filled with maggots in the morning but what ever they picked on the sixth day remained fresh on the Sabbath so they had food to eat (vs. 24). At God’s command, they kept some of the manna in a two-quart container which stayed fresh as a memento for many generations after their time in the desert (vs. 32). Without fail manna showed up for 40 years, even as they moved from place to place in the desert until they reached the borders of the Promised Land (vs. 35).

Getting manna first thing in the morning had become such a mundane part of their existence that after a very short period, they were no longer filled with awe and wonder. They forgot about what a miracle manna itself was and started to complain so bitterly:

Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!”

Numbers 11:4-6 BSB

It appears every time they complained or were dissatisfied with their lives, they had forgotten that earlier that morning they had experienced a miracle: the miracle of manna. As I read through these scripture, I realized that in many ways my life is no different. There are days where I clearly see God’s hands at work in my life and in the lives of people around me in mighty miraculous ways. But for most days, life is just same old same old. The rhythms of my life are routine and somewhat mundane. And yet God continues to work what I call “the daily manna” miracles- the miracles in the mundane. These miracles are not loud or jaw-dropping; they do not come with the pomp of the partings of the Red Sea. They are the quiet constant miracles that have become so common place that I fail to see them and more often fail to be thankful for them. One such miracle is found in this reassuring scripture:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

God’s steadfast love for me and His tender mercies towards me are renewed every morning. Just like the manna in the desert, God’s loving devotion and compassion is never stale over my life. They are released fresh every morning to help me tackle everything that comes my way. However, up until typing this post I have never given it much thought. Perhaps if I had, I would complain less and be more thankful and more aware of God’s daily blessing of love and mercy. And friends, there are so many more of these “daily manna” miracles God bestows on us each morning and throughout our day. For example, Psalm 3:5 reminds us “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.” Even waking up from sleep is a miracle!

Friends, I end this post with some questions and poem for reflection: Are you attune to the miracles in the mundane of life or have they become so common place that you are no longer left in awe and wonder? Will you open your eyes and your heart to see the areas where God is actively at work in the rhythms of your life?

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes—
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Barrett Browing

Yours Truly.

P.s. If you want to find reasons to be grateful and thankful to God today read Psalm 107.

Posted on by intentional4christ

Rachel’s Idols

I have recently taken a fascination to the Genesis 31 story about Jacob’s exodus from his father-in-law’s house in Paddan-aram to return to his homeland. Jacob had been cheated by Laban, his father-in-law, since he moved in with him. He worked fourteen years in exchange for his wives, Rachel and Leah, and another six years for his livestock. One day, God told Jacob to take his household and possessions and return home to Canaan. Jacob discussed this with his wives who agreed to return with him. Then he devised a plan to flee from Paddan-aram without saying goodbye for fear that Laban would prevent him from leaving. But one of his wives, Rachel did the most bizarre thing:

Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols…Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laban searched everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period.” So Laban searched but could not find the household idols.

Genesis 31:19, 34-35 BSB

Rachel could have taken gold or trinkets or something of great worth. But instead, she stole household idols- worthless household idols! She was moving to a foreign land, an unknown place, and she chose to cling to the familiar. Though she has said yes to God’s call, she did not want to let go of her old ways.

In many ways we are like Rachel. We have received God’s free gift of salvation and with this gift, we have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into God’s kingdom (1 Peter 2:9). But many of us continue to drag things from our past life into this new kingdom. We do everything in our power to protect old habits, unhealthy relationships, and ungodly behaviours. We make excuses such as, “That’s just who I am,” “I worked hard for my money and I can do whatever I want with it,” “I deserve to have a little fun,” “As long as I am not hurting anyone, its ok!”…and the list goes on. With words like these, we protect the idols we have stolen from the kingdom of darkness: habits of anger, bitterness, selfishness, strive, jealousy, unforgiveness, drunkenness, debauchery, sexual immorality, filthy speech, you name it. We forget that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT).

This is why Romans 12:2 is such an important scripture for every believer.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

You do not want to be ensnared by and encumbered with worthless habits, behaviours, and customs of this world. You have been set free so let go of the idols! Don’t hide them like Rachel did. Instead, let the light of Christ expose these idols. Then confess and renounce them. Like David, let your prayer be:

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139: 23-24 KJV

This story is more or less about syncretism and the idols we hold dear. And by idols, I am not only referring to statues, talismans, and charms, but also the familiar, unhealthy, and ungodly habits and the sins that so easily beset us. You see, the problem with idols (habits and secret sins) is that they have a way of taking over one’s life. Idolatry is like “a little yeast that leavens the whole batch of dough” (Galatians 5:9). What may have started as harmless fun soon becomes an entrenched habit or character trait. Consequently, we find ourselves once again in bondage to the kingdom of darkness because we have held on to something from that kingdom. In Rachel’s story, what started as just household idols soon became a problem for the whole community after a few years. Idolatry had so infiltrated Jacob’s household that he had to tell everyone in his household to get rid of their idols and purify themselves before continuing on their journey (Genesis 35:2).

Jesus remains our example. Before He left earth, He said, “…for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14:30 KJV). Satan had no claim or power over Jesus because Jesus had nothing in Him that belonged to the kingdom of darkness. Can the same be said of you and I?

The psalmist, in Psalm 24: 3, asks two poignant questions: Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? And he answers:

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol…

Psalm 24: 4 BSB

As I end this post, my prayer for you and myself comes from the lyrics of a song:

We bow our hearts; we bend our knees

Oh, Spirit come make us humble

We turn our eyes, from evil things

Oh, Lord we cast down our idols

Give us clean hands, give us pure hearts;

Let us not lift our souls to another.

God let us be a generation that seeks your face;

Who seeks your face, Oh God of Jacob!

Yours Truly.