So are you one of the Vinegar Veras or Polyannas of this world?

Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down.So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them.  Numbers 11:1-3

Some people are never happy. They can always find something to complain about. Nothing is ever good enough for them. Nothing you do or give them is ever just right. They ruin a meal out by complaining loudly at some point during the evening. They mutter under their breath about how bad a film is. They ruin a shopping trip by moaning about queues and sore feet and not finding the perfect gift. They exude negativity.

We all know people like this. My manager calls them Vinegar Veras. They sour every situation. They find so much to whinge about. They choose to focus on what is wrong, on what they have not.  Being around them is exhausting. They suck the joy out of life.

And then there are the Polyannas (read the book or watch the film if you don’t know what I’m talking about). They can face exactly the same situation, eat the same meal, watch the same film, visit the same shops – and yet they manage to see the best in everything, make the best out of every situation. They exude positivity. They breathe life and joy into a situation. They choose to focus on what is right, on what they have. They find so much to be thankful for.

I know who I’d rather be around. Life is what it is. It is often far from perfect but there is always something to celebrate and be grateful for.

Take the Israelites for example. God had brought them out of slavery and set them free. He had provided for all their needs. But here they were, choosing to focus on the hardships – the long walk, the tired feet, the sore back from sleeping on the bumpy ground……..No wonder God got annoyed. He had done so much for them and yet here they were, complaining and whingeing and grumbling among themselves. No wonder He sent fire to remind them of who they were  complaining and whingeing and grumbling about.

But still they did not learn –

The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”  Numbers 11:4-6

God had miraculously provided food for them – manna from heaven – so that they would never go hungry. This was amazing and something to celebrate in itself. But no, this wasn’t enough – the Israelites craved variety (which I can sort of understand – after all, who could live without fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic?). They selectively remembered the good food in Egypt and forgot about the exploitation and suffering. Nostalgia can do that to e a person – everything was better in the good old days……

And so…

The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled.  Numbers 11:10

So what does Moses do? He has a moan of his own –

“Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”  Numbers 11:11-15

What have I done to deserve this? I can’t carry on like this. This is all too much for me. How can I fix it? I can’t do this any more. Why me? I’d be better off dead.

Pity. It happens. Sometimes we hit a wall. We feel sorry for ourselves. We feel we can’t carry on any more.

I have a friend who cannot tolerate self-pity. She points it out as soon as I slip into it. She cannot be doing with it at all. She is very, very good for me.

Yes, life is hard sometimes and it’s OK to say that. But what is not OK is to wallow in the ‘woe is me!’ quagmire and waste all my energy flailing around in there getting covered in ugly mud and getting sucked further and further in.

She takes my hand and drags me out and helps me get cleaned up. Then she gives me a hug and says something to make me smile and holds my hand as I carry on through the day.

There is always something to celebrate and be thankful for (even through the tears and pain – I’m not advocating ignoring pain and suffering of any kind). Life is better when we look for the good. I really believe that.

Anyway, back to Numbers. God takes pity on Moses. He anoints 70 elders to help and support Moses –

I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.  Numbers 11:17

And he takes pity on the people –

Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat.  Numbers 11:18

Well, sort of. Yes, he will give them meat but he will teach them a lesson also. It’s a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’ and ‘you really can have too much of a good thing’.

Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”  Numbers 11:18-20

You see, the Israelites had forgotten how to trust their God. We haven’t mentioned trust for a while, have we? But trust is the key to a positive outlook, isn’t it? Trusting that God really will provide, that things can always get better, that there is good to be found in every situation……

And Moses had forgotten how to trust God too –

“Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”  Numbers 11:21-22

He has lost sight of the fact that it is God who provides. He feels he has to do everything and provide everything. He believes it’s all about him. He has forgotten how to relax into his trust of the 100% faithful God who has never let him down before.

I love God’s response –

Is the Lord’s arm too short?  Numbers 11:23

Have you forgotten who I am? Have you lost sight of who you are talking to? Has there ever been anything I have not been able to do? Has there ever been a promise I have made and not fulfilled? You may be weak, but I am not. You may not be able to do this, but I can.

We’re not finished yet. There’s another interesting bit in this chapter. When the 70 elders come to be anointed by God, they start to prophesy. Two of the elders do not come – and yet they start to prophesy also. Joshua, Moses’ assistant, is not happy. Not happy at all. How dare they? How very dare they? They had not come forward to be anointed and yet, here they were , sharing in the blessing? What was that all about? He tells Moses to stop them. And Moses’ reply? –

“Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”  Numbers 11: 29

It’s hard to see other people we may not particularly like doing well and receiving credit. Or someone we feel has inferior skills to us get the promotion we wanted. My friend recently was happy with the mark she got in her assignment – until someone else who had seemingly struggled with the course content got a better mark than her! Jealousy is another of those things that have run through this journey so far and is always ready to rear its ugly head!

Anyway, God sends quail. An awful lot of quail. Piled about three feet high. Covering an area about a days’ walk in every direction. That’s a lot of quail.

But God has not finished yet. He sends a plague on all those who craved other food – and they die!

Let that be a lesson to us!

I’m joking, but actually there are a lot of lessons to take in and inwardly digest (lol) in this chapter. God does provide and will provide. We need to be grateful and thankful for all that we have and all the good things that we enjoy. We do not need to do anything on our own and in our own strength. We do not need to compare our lives to others. We do not need to panic that we will not have enough or be enough or do enough.

Happiness and contentment lie in celebrating the ‘enough’ and sometimes ‘more than enough’ that we are blessed with everyday.