Then you will know

Wouldn't you think...once you've experienced a miracle, that, that would change your attitude?...for life? I've heard it said by 'non-believers'...."well if God just talked to me, you know, really talked to me...like loud, and from out of a cloud...or even a dog, boy, I'd believe then!"......would you now? "Then you will know"...the Lord is once again speaking to Moses this morning....the children of Israel are complaining, now they think their 'tif' is with Moses...Exodus 16:3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." You see now they were murmuring to Moses and Aaron. But Moses and Aaron said, "Hey man, you're not really murmuring against us, you're murmuring against God. It's God that has brought you to this place, not we. And your murmurings are against God." This is me! Over the years, at least early on in my life I felt this way....its my circumstance, its a boss, or a fellow employee, or a friend, or even a family member...but nooooooo, its actually against GOD! That's a hard pill to swallow now...my complainings are really vented towards God...the very same God who saved me, who provides for me, who blesses me, who loves me....truly loves me, like no other...faithfully longsuffers over me..."why is that?"....again I say: "wouldn't you think...once you've experienced a miracle, that, that would change your attitude?...for life?"       Now i feel as though I need to be clear on this, I said over the years, at least early on in my life----this doesn't mean I've conquered this area, this sin, in my life, and now I no longer grumble, or complain, or even murmer....by no means! I say God has made more keenly aware of my sin...I am a "work-in-progress"... He stops me often times in the midst of my complaining and, nudges me, gently reminds me.....for unlike us, He never forces Himself on us....He is the ultimate Gentleman....and He says: "Who is it that has brought me here?"
Encouraged? or discouraged?...both? Yeah I know, me too...probably both....discouraged, cause I still grumble, still complain, still murmur....feel like I'll never get this! Paul says in Romans 7:15 "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."  There you go, see what I mean, the very thing I hate to do,  like grumble and complain, is the very thing I do, and often! I get trapped, trapped into fighting these spiritual battles in my flesh, ah there's that flesh thingy again....Trying to please God in the flesh has to be one of the most frustrating experiences in the world.  Trying to attain a righteous standing before God by my works has to be one of the most frustrating things in the world, because I have found with Paul that I do not always do what I know I should do. It is so easy for me to not do the things I should. Once again, it brings me to this, a dual nature if you will, my spiritual vs. my flesh....these two never stop 'warring' against each other...never, until the day God calls us home! So what is my hope? My Hope, is Jesus Christ....He has already won the victory, He has already conquered this battle for me....so as cliche as it sounds, its true....I must keep my eye, my focus on Jesus Christ..........Hebrews 3:1 "fix your thoughts on Jesus"