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| Taken at the Fish Market, Dubai UAE. Credits to my brother, Makoi. |
Hundreds in numbers are our complaints, but God’s provisions are thousands. It was unbeknown to us that we fail to recognize the work of God in every situation that we are having. We are so focused on the things that we don’t have and they all lead to a complaining US. This repetitive complain make us see things as ordinary and we fail to realize the wonder behind it. Work is the number one source of complaints in every expats’ life, though I understood that working in a foreign land is harder than you thought it is. We forgot that we came to a foreign country and search for the work that we have right now. While we were on the application stage, we prayed harder and asked God to give us work. Right now, we are complaining about God’s answers to our prayer. It doesn’t sound so right, does it?
Like the chosen people of God, they also did a lot of complaining in their journey to the Promised Land from Egypt. Since the desert is naturally dry, they complained about the water, yet God provided for them by asking Moses to strike the rock and then the water came out of it and their thirst was quenched. They again complained about the food and God provided for them meat at twilight and manna every morning. Everyone gathered as much as they needed and when the sun grew hot, the manna melted away. God also protected them from their unforeseen enemies by directing their routes. They were also given a cloud which was their guide and a protection against the scorching heat of the sun in daytime and a pillar of fire in the night. There are 3 to 5 million people who were on this journey, I couldn’t imagine how huge would that cloud and fire be, and how many are the manna that surround them. All these miracles didn’t make their mouths shut. Whining covers their eyes to see the wonders of God. The cloud which moved ahead of them, the manna that melts and got rotten if kept and the turning of bitter water to sweet did not amaze them. Their hearts were all covered that they didn’t have the awe in God’s provisions.
We too are like the chosen people; we are the chosen people in the modern time. Our mouths are so fast to open yet our hearts are so slow to appreciate and our minds aren’t so quick to comprehend. We become so restless on the things that aren’t comfortable to us and we end up relying on what our own selves can do without the grace from God. We forget that God is behind everything that we have. He did not lead us to another company because, like the chosen people, we are not yet ready. His divine diversion is all because of you and for you. The route to the Promised Land is not always direct. Sometimes God will lead us Southward, Eastward or in a roundabout way, the same as what the bible called the wilderness but God is constantly faithful. His words never came back void and empty. In the book of Deuteronomy, He says “The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. (Deuteronomy 2:9) That alone is more than reassurance, what else will we need? God is more than enough. He created dusk to give way to the dawn. If God has promised something over our career, take heart, He has overcome! Hold unto it and claim that one day, its going to happen. Ask God to make you ready in receiving that answered prayer and allow Him to work in your midst. Surely, it will come to pass, not maybe today, neither tomorrow but in His own perfect time. Wake up each day with a thankful heart, knowing that you are one day closer to that career breakthrough. The Promised Land is near, stay hopeful and do not grow weary. Stand firm in the Lord. Like Caleb, you will be in the land flowing with milk and honey.
