Worn out? Look to the Cross!

As I read Scripture today, I came across a familiar story of human frailty.  “With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained….” (Numbers 21: 4-9).  Often we set out on our daily adventures filled with expectations and hope, only to find barriers have been erected to spoil our plans.  Life is hard sometimes.  Humans are pretty good at adapting and working around these problems that inevitably come our way.  But sometimes we lose our nobility and blow a gasket.  That can happen more easily when we’re tired and hungry.  Our bodies can let us down, and many times perhaps all we need is a little nap and some food and drink to bring us back to our senses.  And if we can just have a friend to encourage us along the way, it’s much easier to be patient and bear up under adversity on the journey.   In this way, we’re really not that different from our young children.

Covid-19 seems to be lingering for what feels like forever.  Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods in most of the country and fires in the West has left a lot of us feeling a little “worn out” from the experience.  It should make us realize that we’re not masters of our destiny.  We do indeed depend on God for our very existence.  Over time, our patience can wear thin, and we wonder if He’s listening to our prayers.  Our elders reassure us, as they know these things happen and they don’t last forever.  But it still wears us out to wait, and we still seek assurance that God knows our needs.

When human undertakings are involved, we may add to our inquiries: “Who’s in charge here?” and “What in the world is going on?”!   That also seemed to be the case with the Israelites.  They began to doubt Moses’ leadership.  Instead of encouraging one another toward hope, they seemed to be encouraging despair and dissension.  They grumbled instead of pursuing something more constructive.  And of course, this wasn’t the first time.  They had been through this behavioral pattern before.  Slow learners, those Israelites.  Unfortunately, that pretty much describes me, too.

We can see the experience as an object lesson, in which the chastening of the Israelites was followed by salvation.  By following God’s command to raise up an instrument which symbolized something they feared (the saraphs), they were restored.   Many years later, that restoration would come in a more lasting and significant way through the wood of the cross.  Jesus, in John’s Gospel, connects up that story for us (John 3:13-17).  The cross of suffering, death, and shame becomes something we must behold if we’re to be restored.

May God help us to get the rest and food we need, and to have friends to encourage us along the way so that we may persevere instead of grumbling.   And may He also open our eyes to see and rejoice in the salvation He has brought for us.