“One day some worthless foreigners among the Israelites became greedy for food, and even the Israelites themselves began moaning, “We don’t have any meat! In Egypt we could eat all the fish we wanted, and there were cucumbers, melons, onions, and garlic. But we’re starving out here, and the only food we have is this manna.” The manna was like small whitish seeds and tasted like something baked with sweet olive oil. It appeared at night with the dew. In the morning the people would collect the manna, grind or crush it into flour, then boil it and make it into thin wafers. The Israelites stood around their tents complaining. Moses heard them and was upset that they had made the Lord angry.” (Numbers 11:4-10 CEV)
Two young boys are overheard talking the day after Thanksgiving. One boy was complaining about eating too much food and his words were like an impossible to believe grievance, “Momma fixed too much food.” The other boy looked at him with an upside down grin, yes a frown, and said, “You should not be complaining! I’m not! Look, we had the littlest turkey. It must have been the slowest turkey, unable to get to the feed put out by the person raising the turkeys! It was so scrawny, skinny, and short on meat, but I’m not complaining because the Lord put food on our table.” The latter not was not just teaching the other boy, but all who were around him within hearing distance, including adults who stopped in their tracks to listen to the conversation. God was using the young lad. And his account about the slowest turkey was comparable in terms of sharing wisdom, nearly as close to the scriptural account of the Israelites complaining about manna from heaven. A teaching has been taught; transferred to our thinking: “You had nothing and then you were blessed with something!”
Yes, the application of the wisdom in the story about the slowest turkey goes beyond food. In general we learn about continuing to be grateful for our blessings. We are reminded never to cease being thankful that the Lord has sustained us to see another day! Resonating in the little boy’s unspoken words was a message to us to move us to stop complaining about what you don’t have or don’t have yet, and be thankful, just like the little boy above whose family had the slowest turkey; be thankful for what you do have. Be thankful for the Lord’s provisions, protection, promises, and presence in your life! I feel like shouting right now! I think I will! “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Praise God from who all blessings flow!”
Thanksgiving Day may be gone and you have figuratively grabbed the remote that controls the channeling of thoughts in your mind and you pushed a button that is focusing on Christmas from a secular perspective. But, even if Thanksgiving Day has past, don’t stop giving thanks to the Lord for what you do have. And even if you might have not been as astute as the little boy who learned some valuable lessons from the slowest turkey, you will understand it better by and by. Say “Hallelujah!” Be blessed!
“The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. He lets me rest in fields of green grassand leads me to quiet pools of fresh water. He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths,as he has promised. Even if I go through the deepest darkness,I will not be afraid, Lord,for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me. You prepare a banquet for me,where all my enemies can see me; you welcome me as an honored guestand fill my cup to the brim. I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live. ” (Psalm 23 GNT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King