We're learning life lessons from Numbers Chapter 9. The rest of chapter 9 tells us about the cloud of God. The cloud covered the Tent of the Testimony from evening till morning, providing firelight in the sky. What an awesome sight that must have been! This cloud was given to Israel as a visible sign of God’s presence. God told the people to make the tabernacle. He gave them the design and moved to hover over it. This was His meeting place with Moses. The Israelites could see the cloud as a cloud during the day, then at night, when you usually cannot see a cloud very well, it appeared to be on fire. Like the burning bush Moses saw in the wilderness when he was called back to Egypt (Exodus 3), the cloud was never consumed. We are told in Deuteronomy 4:24, that our God is “a consuming fire, a jealous God.” James tells us that the Spirit He causes to live in us envies intensely (James 4:5). We are to honor God with our lives. The Israelites were able to simply look up and they would see a symbol of God. They had seen how God dealt with Egypt. They had seen how God dealt with grumbling and complaining. Honoring God must be part of their daily lives.
The same holds true for today’s believers. We may not have a cloud of God’s presence suspended above our homes or places of worship, but we have the very word of God which tells us that He “never leaves us or forsakes us.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Honoring God needs to be a part of our daily lives as well. How are you doing on this? Think of a few things that you are thankful for. If you really think about it, you could probably fill quite a list! You are reading this electronic Bible message. That means you can see, you have a device connected to the Internet, and you have great cognitive abilities. There are three things for your list already!
Being thankful to God for who He is and what His presence means in our lives is honoring to Him. If your mental list only noted things or loved ones, try listing below some thanksgiving to God for your salvation, His work in your life, and who He is. If your list above already had some of that, I am sure you can think of more. ;)
Believe me, when it comes to attitude, I still have a ways to go. I can get an attitude and be sassy at times. When I look closely at what causes my bad attitude, it most always has to do with my will. If a situation does not go the way I think it should or someone does not do what I think they should have done, I can get an attitude that is not godly. I pray for help in this area and have memorized Scriptures that speak to this problem, then the Spirit can help me to focus on the Word when I am tempted to display a bad attitude. I have to stop and catch myself before I vent an unkind attitude that reflects my selfish thoughts. It is a great feeling when I experience victory in this area. I will never be perfect this side of heaven, but as long as I see improvement, I can be encouraged. If I have an unkind thought toward another person, I make sure that I think something good about them instead, combating a downward spiral of negativity.
A grateful heart is a great antidote for complaining. Grumbling and complaining is not only dishonoring to God, it reflects a lack of trust in Him and shows that we don’t believe His Word. In His Word, God constantly says how He loves and cares for us. If we grumble and complain, we are not believing that word. Because of the Fall of man in Genesis 3 and the original sin in the Garden of Eden, this is a broken world. Sin is the reason for the pain and suffering, crime and injustice in this world. As believers, we can look up in difficult circumstances and rest in the Blessed Hope of the return of Jesus Christ. We will meet Jesus in the air and it can be any day now. If Jesus is returning tomorrow, what should you be doing today? Don’t wait! Do it!
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