When last we met we looked at an overview of the Israelites journey out of Egypt and on to the Promised Land. Time and time again we noticed that God rescued His chosen people, only to have them turn their backs on Him, and forget all He did for them. If you are anything like me, you were probably wondering how the Israelites could be so stinkin' STUPID!?!? It's an easy thing to do. We read the stories of the bible, knowing full well how the story ends, and look down on the people (Israel, the Pharisees, doubting Thomas), when the truth is, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we will admit that we are no better than they were.
I bring to your attention a "funny" story. A while ago I had to purchase a power supply for my laptop. I bought it at Best Buy (it was on my way home from work, and kind of an emergency buy). Anyway, after a a while, for reasons I don't remember, it stopped working. Crap. It was still under warantee, YAY! I knew that I had to have the receipt somewhere, but where? I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked all over the house. I phoned Best Buy, after some time on the phone, they basically told me there was nothing they could do, and that I would have to call the credit card company. I called them, and they told me that there was nothing they could do and I would have to call Best Buy. Anyway, after approximately 3 hours on the phone (that is not an exaggeration) Best Buy came through for me with a copy of the receipt! YAY!
Why do I tell you this story. Well not long after this day, I looked in my wallet. There was the original receipt. It was in my pocket all along!! I never even considered praying about it. I forgot that God could, or would be a part of my life. This is where I give kudos to Beth. The first thing she asks when I mention that I lost something is "Did you pray about it?" I relied on my own strength and understanding. I won in the end, but not without much struggle and frustration. Sound familiar? Pick a story from the Israelites...
Here's another story to show my point. I am a man of routine. If I stray from the routine, all Hell beaks loose. I forget to bring my lunch to work if I add something to my morning routine for example. I tend to spend time reading the bible while I eat my breakfast in the morning. I used to read at night before bed, but found that I couldn't concentrate when I was tired. Anyway, this works great during the school year, but during the summer, my schedule gets all messed up (I teach math at a High school). There are often multiple days in a row where I just don't read my bible. Now, I have noticed a change when this happens. Usually I don't remember my dreams, and very rarely do I have bad dreams, but during the times when I am not reading the bible consistently, I have dreams that I don't want to remember. I'm not trying to say that reading the bible is some magic pill that protects your dreams. I am saying that spending time with God has benefits, and forgetting Him will have negative consequences.
So the moral of the story is, not to point fingers at the faults and failures of the people in the bible, but to try to learn from them. Oh, and don't forget God!
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