Steve-o's Devos: Woe is...Hunh?

There is a saying that "hindsight is 20/20," perhaps meaning that we make lots of decisions that potentially could cause us pain. When they do, we tend to regret ever having made them instead complaining about it to others, or wishing we had chosen differently. A lot of the time our friends and family may simply smile warmly and help us get through the pity party, or they may just say, "See, what did I tell you?" Either way, it rarely makes a whole lot of difference in how we might feel.

I am struck this week by one of my favorite moments of complaint in the Bible. It happens smack dab in the middle of the Exodus and it is a wonderful example of what happens often in our lives when we can look back and try and wish we had made different choices.

You can catch the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt in the Old Testament book of the same name (or the Hollywood version in films like The Prince of Egypt or The Ten Commandments). But let us for a moment think through this situation. People are being enslaved. They have a miserable existence where they can be whipped, overworked, and killed, or simply die from exhaustion. Could anyone in those conditions ever look back and say, "Ah, those were the good old days..."?

Yet, this is exactly what was happening with the Israelites. You know they headed out into the desert in the largest Honda ever constructed...(because they went in one accord...). But seriously, the excitement of all those miracles that Moses performed, the strength of his leadership and a tremendous amount of momentum brought them all to this point in time. In the rush to get out of town, to escape oppression, to find a new freedom unlike any of them had ever seen, they evidently did not take the supplies they needed for the journey.

Moses in faced with a crowd of complaining people. They are running out of food. So they manage to discover a sort of bread that is "rained down from heaven." Wow, they can eat! But it is not enough. "Man cannot live on bread alone! We need meat!" So, soon a flock of quails descend into the camp. The Israelites are fed.

What I love about this story is that Moses states clearly that they are complaining. All of them have blamed God for the situation they are in and expect an answer, no basically demand an answer. You have to wonder what their other options were. There was no place to go, no town nearby...they were in the middle of nowhere. Yet, they demand and expect God to help them. God does. The miracle we see is that the Israelites are fed. But the greater miracle is that God listens.

God listens to our complaints. God does send us the way to change how we are living. God provides ways that can get us out of bad decisions if only we look closely. Even when a food stuff appears on the ground, someone needed to say, "Look, we can eat this!"

It is not uncommon for us to take time and lift our complaints up to others. But this story encourages us to lift them to God. It is a reminder that we make decisions...what a blessing!....they are not predetermined, and they are fluid in that we are not stuck with where we are in any given moment.

"Woe is me? I wish I had never _______________." Can you fill that in?

Perhaps look back at a time when those words, or some like it, came out of your mouth. When you do, you'll likely see that a way out appeared and life went on with the crisis averted. Because when we are in the middle of our journey, it is difficult to see just where we are headed. It was true of Moses and the Israelites journey into the desert, a journey that would lead to the birth of a savior...all in good time.

If we think back to those critical moments of pain or joy, the fleetingness of them is like the blink of an eye. It is a simple instant in our lives that moved us further in the right direction, or momentarily off course. But, if we lift our complaint up to God, there will be a "Hunh" moment when the solution to our situation is staring us in our face. When life takes a turn in unexpected ways with unexpected results, we can lift our complaints to God and be willing for the surprise of our lives. Amen.