I was reading some time
ago about a spoiled, fretting child, and a patient nanny who was doing everything
in her power, but all in vain, to pacify and satisfy him. The fashionable
mother was taking her late morning nap before rising, and being startled by
a frequent recurring shriek or scream from the window where the nanny and
child were sitting. The mother would ask the nanny with an impatient, exasperated
tone, "What on earth is the matter with the baby?" The replies were, "He
wants this", and "He is crying for that", or "He is pulling for something
else." The sleepy instructions of the mother would be, "Let him have whatever
he wants."
One time, not hearing distinctly what the nanny's reply to her question was,
the mother said impatiently, "I told you to let him have it!" In another
minute there was a frightful yell from the window by the child, and the mother,
now thoroughly angry over her frequent disturbance from slumber, cried out:
"Mary, didn't I tell you to let the child have whatever he wants?!" The quiet
answer of the nanny was, "That's just what's the matter with him now, ma'am.
He's got what he wanted!" The thing that the child had screamed for want
of was a wasp! He got it alright! And then he shrieked because he did get
it....
Look around you today ladies, is this not what is going on everywhere and
all the time among grown up people, Christians included?! For what are men
and women after all but grown-up children... Oh, we're taller and heavier,
it's true, but our behavior is very often like that of a child, amen? Men
and women reach, struggle, grasp at and cry for things they insist on having.
They get them in many instances, and then the world around them is treated
to gushes of tears, tearings of hair, groanings of spirit and sobs and cries
because they got the very things they said they must have! I'm sure in the
eyes of the Lord it must appear there is no pleasing some people...
Numbers 11:1, And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and
the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burn
among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp."
The trouble is ladies, that when we have our way, we always get the wasp,
and of course, we get what goes along with the wasp - the sting! Poor, foolish,
fretting children that we are, we only see the "pretty thing" flying around
us, never considering for a moment the consequences of our often silly pursuits,
nor the injury we bring upon our own mental, physical, and spiritual condition
by chasing after other gods!
In Psalm 16:4 the Bible says, "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten
after another god....."
This nation is filled with the cries of those who got what they craved and
more - the suffering which invariably follows the getting of our own selfish,
stubborn, and self-opinionated way. Hearts are heavy with despair and sorrow
while true heartfelt gladness can rarely be found anymore. Oh, the wasp is
caught, but there is a sting that goes along with the wasp! The sting of
sorrow....
David said in Psalm 16:8-9, "I have set the Lord always before me: because
he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad,
and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope."
Ladies, David didn't chase after wasps! He chased after the Lord, set the
Lord before him ALWAYS, thus preventing himself from hastening after other
gods. This means that David continually realized the presence of the Lord.
David drew nigh to God, and God drew nigh to him. The result? A constant
support system from Heaven above that established his faith! David enjoyed confidence
in his prayer life and regularly experienced peace throughout all of life,
regardless of the various circumstances he would face. He had hope in God,
and his flesh rested in that hope. So many today are giving up on life and
throwing up their hands in despair for lack of hope! So many have turned
to whining and complaining and feeling sorry for themselves.... But not the
one who always sets the Lord before him, amen?
2 Samuel 22:23, "For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes,
I did not depart from them."
David also had a GLAD heart.... The sting of sorrow did not reach him, because
he was not fooled by the "pretty thing" flying around, he did not greedily
reach for the wasp! Setting the Lord before you ALWAYS, brings gladness to
the inner man as well as protection from the sting of sin.
How about you, dear lady? Have you been wooing or wedding other gods? Have
you been experiencing much sorrow of late, or would you consider yourself
a glad person these days? How easy is it for God to please you.... Has it
been a tragedy for you not to get your own way? What have you been hastening
after - your wants, or God's will??
Deut. 5:7, "Thou shalt have none other gods before me."
If you recall the story in the book of Numbers, Moses had to put up with the
murmuring, mixed multitude he was leading. The people were tired of manna
and wanted flesh to eat. God took care of the Israelites wants just as He
will yours and mine when they become too important to us.....
Numbers 11:18-20, "And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against
to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord,
saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt:
therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat
one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But
even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome
unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have
wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?"
Yes, the continual, carnal cry of the crowd was answered, but not in a way
the people expected, amen? They got stung with the lust of their own desires
and what they once wanted so desperately had become loathesome to them. As
a matter of fact, their bad attitudes eventually led to an upset stomach!
There are many ways to get ulcers but the quickest is to insist upon having
your own way.... Ladies, no matter what it is you may crave living under the
power of your carnal mind, you will pay dearly for your feast, for it could
be to the ruin of your precious soul!
Numbers 11: 33-34, "And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it
was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the
Lord smote the people with a very great plague. And he called the name of
that place Kibroth-hat-taav-ah: because there they buried the people that
lusted."
It is not wise to despise what God has seen fit to provide you with, nor to
indulge yourself in your wants to the point of discontent. Discontented minds
tend to find fault with that which has no fault, amen? Left unchecked, our
desires can lead to unrighteousness and become sinful. In essence, our murmurings deny
either the wisdom or goodness of God... Be content and thankful for that
which God has seen fit to provide you with and spare yourself the sting of
your wants!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
