Deuteronomy 8:16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

We have been talking about the seeds we sow in our hearts and the fruits they produce. Today I’d like to address the seed of dissatisfaction. I am using the example of Israel’s grumbling about the manna because it plainly shows the first fruit result in finding fault. The first thing that happens is a false vision of the past, a sense that things were better back in Egypt. They completely ignore the bondage in their desire for a taste of the past. They lost their gratitude for being saved.

There are so many examples that I could give here, but rather than focusing on specifics, I’d ask you to look for examples in your own lives where you have been witness to these symptoms. Blaming others, companies, government, organizations or perhaps even yourselves for a situation or circumstance in which gratitude was lost. Did that situation lead to damage or the end of a relationship? Was trust lost? Was communication cut off?

I’ve never blamed God for my circumstances. It hasn’t hurt my relationship with my Lord.

Ever thought that? Ever said that? During our recent study in Ephesians we learned that all spiritual blessing have been placed in Christ in heaven. Our access to those blessing is through Him. Our access to those blessing requires us to enter in and the attitude that gains access is gratitude, which we gave up in blaming, grumbling and murmuring.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

 When we allow things rather than God to be the source of our satisfaction, we injure our relationship with God and cut off access to blessings that rightfully belong to us because of our relationship with Jesus by faith.  

Psalm 17:15  As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

My favorite verse in the bible reminds me that God is my satisfaction, not things.

Heavenly Father who takes care of all our needs, may we never forget to look to You in the midst of our circumstances to see what You are doing in us. AMEN

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Not so long ago Fred Pratt gave us some good Lifelines on growth, the grass seed struggling to reach the light, growing right up in the middle of the pavement. As I wrote yesterday not all the things which we plant in our hearts are godly or good for us.

I had planted a seed of unforgiveness in my heart. Whenever this weed grew I saw it and cut it off like mowing the weeds in my yard. You see the weed, you do not want to allow that weed to spread its own seed so you cut it off.

I’ve been successful in cutting the weed. I even forgave the man who shot me. I did this for my own sake, to have a pretty lawn. But the root of the weed was still alive and kept growing back. I had failed to kill the root. Recently, during a small group study, I exposed the root stem, and traced it down to the root, so that I might dig it out.

The stem appeared in the form of my being critical of others. The root source of my being critical turned out to be unforgiveness, not of others but of myself. While I could find it within my abilities to forgive others, I failed to forgive myself for all the pain and suffering I had caused over the years.

I quote Philippians 3:3 above as a reminder that forgetting is a sign of forgiveness. Looking back at who I was and remembering the pain was the enemy’s way of keeping my eyes off the prize ahead.

Some of the seeds that are sown in our lives were sown in the “old man” who is dead. Just as a dead lawn can be reseeded and brought to new life, care must be taken to root out the weeds and not just mow them down as they appear.

Heavenly Father I pray You will expose those roots which are not from you in the Light of Your Word, so that we can get to the root of the matter and remove it. AMEN