That Greener Grass Is Full Of Pesticides

Scripture: Exodus 16:3 "and the people of Israel said to them, 'Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.'"

Observation: The Israelites are making many fatal mistakes here.
1. They're looking back at their enslavement as though it was pleasant, but the truth its that God brought them out of Egypt because of their cries to Him for freedom.
2. The blessings of Egypt were full of the misery of Egypt, and they are longing for it. On the other hand, they are failing to see that the misery that accompanies following God is full of the blessings of God!
3. They're allowing their present circumstances to blind them to the truth of their enslavement.
4. They're blaming the place in which they find themselves on Moses rather than God.
5. They've forgotten the love that Moses showed them in the departure from Egypt and prefer instead to find faults.

Application: What conviction is this verse! How often I do these things!

I look back on my enslavement to sin and think, "How pleasant!" Ugh!

I'm tempted to long for old relationships when Canid and I fight or are distant and I falsely imagine their greatness.

When I face failures I think to myself, "Why couldn't I have taken that other path? It would have been full of God's blessings!", but I fail to recognize that it is God that brought me away from there and brought me to this current place. (Proverbs 16:9)

And I blame others for my circumstances, forgoing thanks to them for all that they've done for me in love and instead I rub their noses in (what I think are) their mistakes.

Oh, what a wretched man I am. Why would God save me? Bah! This calls me to serious humility. Thank God for rescuing me. Thank God for giving me a true life with true purpose. Bless others for what great benefits I have received from them. Take responsibility for my failures. Give God the praise for my successes. Bless God for where He has guided me and hope in His plans for my future.

Prayer: You are so patient with me. And good to me. And gracious and merciful. And You've blessed me so. You've saved me from a awesome past into a wonderful present and a glorious future. Please teach me humility and kindness! I am desperate. I love You. Amen.