A theme emerges as the children of Israel move en masse out of Egypt on their trek to the promised land. God shows up time and again to pull their fat out of the fire, and the people complain.

Not about the miracles of course, but about the circumstances leading to the miracles. Only a few days after walking through the Red Sea on dry ground, then dancing in joy over their salvation from the Egyptian army, these folks got thirsty and grumbled against Moses—What are we to drink?

I get it. I like to grumble. Literally as I typed this the sun came up, shone through the window into my eyes and forced me to get up—grumbling—to pull my shade down. This while the temperature outside is -8°. I need and want the sun, but not in my eyes at this moment. Complaining is part of our nature—miracles are not.

Which is perhaps why we experience plenty of complaints and never any miracles. Sure, we call a brilliant victory by an underdog team a miracle, or money arrives just before the bills are due and we rejoice, but I’m wondering—when did you last see a pillar of fire?

Perhaps they exist, but grumbling clouds my vision. I hope to be a person who walks between walls of water and marvels, rather than miss it all because I’m complaining about sand in my shoes.

I believe I’ll go raise my shade.

Exodus 15 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Silas Baisch