Eat What's On Your Plate

S

ugar in any form has always been one of my many weaknesses.  Whether straight from the bag or in piecrust; the sweet taste of sugar ranks as one of my all-time joys in life.  My doctor recently reminded of that fact and encouraged me to release my death grip on sweets in exchange for things that are “good for me.”  He has no idea just how much of an uphill battle this is going to be.  Why is it that everything that’s “good for you” tastes like shoe leather and never really satisfies that craving for a chocolate-covered banana split sundae with caramel topping, whipped cream, and a cherry on top?

This is not some trend I’ve developed in recent years.  Oh no! This goes back, way back to my childhood when I spent more time eyeing the cake or pie on the countertop and less time eating my green peas, potatoes, roast, and pickled beets.  Now don’t get me wrong, those all tasted great but they were nothing when compared to mom’s homemade strawberry cobbler!  Mom always knew what I was thinking and each time she saw me mulling over my vegetables or throwing glances at the countertop she made the same statement, “Eat what’s on your plate!”  Problem was, I didn’t want to eat the food in front of me, I wanted to dive head first into that cobbler and eat my way out!  But mom wouldn’t allow it so I choked down the meal in order to get dessert!

I suspect that most of you reading this today have had the same experience. Perhaps you are fighting this battle right now, deciding between broccoli and apple pie.  Your initial reaction is to go with the pie but the broccoli is the better choice and we need look no further than the Old Testament book of Numbers to learn a great spiritual truth.

The Children of Israel had left Egypt behind.  Gone were the days of slavery, gone were the taskmasters with their whips, and gone was the grinding toil of turning mud and straw into bricks.  The people were free and ready to follow the Lord to the land promised so long ago to their father, Abraham.  Yet despite all the miracles they witnessed, despite the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, they still found reason to complain against Moses and their situation. 

This was nowhere more evident than in their request for food.  God knew their food situation and He sent manna each morning to sustain them on their journey.  Manna fell each day without fail except for the Sabbath. The day before this a double portion fell so the people would not go hungry.  All they had to do was pick up the manna and eat it.  What could be simpler?  What could be more wonderful than not having to worry about food?  Yet worry is just what they did.

The people came to Moses complaining they had no meat.  They pined for the food they had in Egypt refusing to remember that the price for eating that food was slavery.  Now they wanted meat and the Lord granted their request though not as they wanted.  He sent quail, enough quail so they would have to eat it each day for over a month.  As they began to eat the quail, the Lord broke out in anger against them and many died by His hand. 

In Numbers 11:34 we read this chilling statement, “Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.”

This is a very hard passage of scripture to read.  All these people wanted was something to eat! Why would God strike them down?  Let’s take a closer look at this passage and understand what took place. 

God provided for his people’s needs.  The manna sustained them and gave them the nourishment their bodies required.  However, they were not satisfied with this; they wanted more.  Essentially what they said to God was, “Your provision is not enough for us!  It’s not what we want!” 

If we are honest with ourselves, we will recognize that we too make this statement concerning things in our own personal lives.  We ask God to provide but we want to dictate the ways and means of that provision.  Rather than meet our needs we expect God to meet our wants and in this respect, we are no different from the Children of Israel who wondered in the desert for 40 years.

God has never promised to meet our wants.  The Bible does not say nor does it teach this notion.  Instead it requires us to place our faith in God and to rely on him to meet our needs.  Moreover, we don’t know what our needs are and we often confuse the concept of need with the idea of want.  The two terms are not synonymous!

Because they craved other food instead of enjoying and appreciating God’s provision, they suffered the consequences.  The name Kibroth Hataavah means “graves of craving” and that is exactly what happened to them.  They perished because their want got in the way of God’s provision for their need.  They were eying dessert instead of eating what was on their plate!  How like them we are!

God has nothing against dessert!  He wants us to enjoy our walk with him and to understand that we must trust him to provide all our needs.  We sometimes suffer in our walk with him because we confuse our wants with our needs, passing up what is best for that which never fully satisfies our cravings!  As you walk with the Lord today trust him to provide all your needs.  He knows where you are and he knows everything you are facing.  Be content to eat what’s on you plate now because there will be dessert after!  We have his word on it!  Bon appétit!