All the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron, and all the people said to them, “We wish we had died in Egypt or in this desert. [Numbers 14:2 (NCV)]
A severely ill 12-year old girl’s wish was to be a singing star and, thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, last Sunday her dream came true. Over a year’s worth of planning went into creating a full concert experience for her. The flashing lights of a police car announced her arrival and, when the professionally made-up, coifed, and gowned star exited her limo, we joined hundreds of others and screamed like adoring fans. While her security team (complete with dark glasses and earpieces) cleared the way, she and her entourage walked down the red carpet to the theater. The crowd cheered, took photos, waved banners and begged for autographs. Once in the theater, backed up by the choir from her school, she sang to an auditorium filled with 300 admiring fans.
While being a pop star is not an unusual wish for a tween, if someone offered to fulfill one wish for you, what would it be? Some of us may have exotic trips on our bucket list. At $76,950, however, that 24-day “Around the World by Private Jet” tour sponsored by National Geographic will probably remain just a fantasy. Others of us might wish to complete a major feat—hike the Appalachian Trail, bike across America, get a book published or have 600 species of birds on our Life List. It certainly isn’t wrong to wish big dreams; after all, wishes often become goals and goals can become reality. Good wishes are ones that center on God and His desires for us: wisdom, peace, spiritual gifts, the coming of God’s kingdom, or the salvation of others. On the other hand, our wishes should never lead us to sin, be for more material goods than needed, harm others, erase what God has already given us or try to circumvent His plan for our lives.
The behavior of the Israelites on their trek to the Promised Land is a perfect example of wrongful wishing. Tired of God’s generous provision of manna and desiring more than necessary, they cried “We want meat!” That wish certainly didn’t turn out well for them. Although they got what they wanted—60 bushels of quail apiece—they also got something extra. Before the quail had been eaten, God sent a plague and thousands died. Unfortunately, the Israelites were slow learners. Ready to enter the Promised Land but afraid of the Canaanites, they expressed their dissatisfaction with God’s plan. “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this desert!” Again, God accommodated them. Over the next forty years, all of those faithless people got exactly what they wanted and died in the desert. Although Moses lived long enough to see Canaan again, only Caleb and Joshua and the Israelites who’d been under twenty at the time of the rebellion entered the Promised Land.
Their experience should teach us to be careful what we wish for—we just might get it!
A prayer in its simplest definition is merely a wish turned Godward. [Phillips Brooks]
Real estate ads can be somewhat misleading. “Needs TLC” usually means structural damage; a “handy-man special” requires rehabbing and money; “waterfront” probably has a basement that floods; “cozy” means really small and “intimate” is even smaller than cozy. “Tear-down,” however, means just that; while the property may have value, the house isn’t worth renovating. In our southwest Florida community, it is not unusual to see advertisements for homes with an asking price in the seven digit territory (none of which need TLC, handymen, have flooded basements, are cozy or intimate.) Since it’s difficult to believe there’s anything needing improvement in such expensive houses, the shocker is that some of those homes are listed as tear-downs. That hefty asking price is for the privilege of tearing down the existing structure and spending several millions more to build another one in its place.
We women tend to consider the mirror a critic, and a ruthless one at that. I don’t know about men but I suspect you fellows may not be all that different. When we look in a mirror, the message we perceive is often disparaging and fault-finding: tired looking, “bed head,” too fat, too old, or too saggy. Then the mirror starts in our apparel telling us things are too tight, too loose, out of style, too young, too old, too wrinkled, or just plain ugly! Most of us don’t hear our mirrors affirming that we are marvelously made.
I often find myself lost in the Bible, fascinated by this amazing book of history, poetry, passion, and wisdom. Comparing translations and reading commentaries helps me understand the context and meaning of verses. Knowing something about the specific church to whom Paul was writing, for example, allows me to better understand his directions, many of which seem peculiar in today’s world where churches don’t argue about circumcision and food isn’t offered to idols. For example, Paul wasn’t playing fashion police when giving instructions about hair length and head coverings to the church in Corinth. Although Greek women worshipped without head coverings, Jewish women had always covered their heads in worship—an uncovered head for them was a sign of loose morals. Moreover, in Corinth (the city with Aphrodite’s temple and its 1000 prostitutes) both long hair on men and short hair on women were signs of prostitution. Paul was trying to unify both Jewish and Gentile believers and prevent anyone’s appearance from interfering with their ability to be a witness for Christ. Bible study also makes old familiar verses take on deeper meaning. David’s sorrowful words of repentance in Psalm 51 are even more poignant when we know they refer to his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. Bible study, however, is far more than an intellectual exercise; it enables us to know God as He revealed himself in Scripture and then to weave His word into our daily lives.
“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” sang the Rolling Stones in 1965. Back in 520 BC, the Jews of Jerusalem were probably singing their own version of that song. Sixteen years earlier, upon their return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, they had started to rebuild the temple just as God had instructed them to do. Within two years, however, construction had stopped. Granted, they had hostile neighbors who, fearing a prosperous Jewish state, harassed them. In actuality, though, they were more to blame for their delay than were their political opponents. Questioning God’s timing, they’d grown discouraged, lost focus and become more concerned about building their own homes than finishing God’s house. God sent a message to the people through the prophet Haggai pointing out that the harder the people worked for themselves, the less they had to show for it. By ignoring God and fulfilling their needs first, the Jews were destined to remain unsatisfied. Moreover, God was angry that He had been ignored. So angry, in fact, that He sent a drought to destroy their crops and livestock.
Writing about my granddaughter yesterday made me think about birth defects. In actuality, all of us have what could be called birth defects—it’s just that some are more obvious than others. While all of God’s children have defects, none are defective. I consider a young man at our Florida church. Cerebral palsy keeps him strapped into a wheel chair and his physical limitations are immense. There is, however, nothing defective about this bright young man. I ponder the enthusiastic grocery worker with Down’s syndrome. She may have an extra chromosome, but there is nothing defective about her. I think of a fellow at church who has no ears. He may be deaf but there is nothing defective about him, nor is there anything defective about a friend’s grand born with only a partial arm and hand or my grand, with her heart defects and learning issues. They are all marvelously made—different from others, but no less wonderful.
