1 Timothy 6:6 – Now godliness with contentment is great gain. (NKJV)

As I looked through some of my favourite recipes online, I came across a recipe that I loved. The name of it is "Cranberry Hootycreeks", a gift-in-a-jar cookie recipe. I love the name — just try saying "Hootycreek" a few times — it makes me happy just letting it roll off my tongue! The recipe is wonderful also. It's a cookie packed with dried cranberries, macadamia nuts, and to top it off, white chocolate chips! It seems since I have been trying to eat healthy foods, my eyes are always wandering off to some delicious recipe or other forbidden foods. How could I be happy with lettuce, carrots, and lean turkey when my heart pleads for Hootycreeks?

I am not the first person to desire what I do not have, and the Bible is a great place to find a good many of them. If we think of David, he had everything he needed or wanted, but he looked on what he didn't have: another man's wife! Maybe one of the most well-known was Eve. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had everything they needed; God had placed them in a paradise with beauty all around them. They could even talk with God in the evening, but they wanted more. Eve looked upon what she couldn't have, and the devil lied to her, saying, "You need just one more thing!" She took and ate the forbidden fruit, and we know how that turned out!

How about those Israelites? They never fail to crack me up! If we read through Exodus, we find that God parted the Red Sea, and let them walk through on dry land. He provided water from a rock. They wore the same shoes for forty years, and no one had to make a trip to Payless Shoes to get new ones. So, you would think that after all He had provided so miraculously, they would trust God to provide food for them, but they grumbled and did not trust Him. How patient God had to be toward these bellyachers! So, God provided each family an omer of manna (about two quarts) every day. This was really a "gift in a jar", but they wanted meat like they'd had in Egypt. They even longed to be back in Egypt where they'd suffered great oppression, saying, "At least, we had all we wanted to eat!" So, God provided quail in the evening. What unfailing love He has for us!

Like me, they had all they needed, but they craved Hootycreek cookies! How much God must love us to listen to our grumblings and see our lack of trust, yet He sees fit to provide us with what we need and even throws in a Hootycreek cookie once in a while!

Prayer: Lord, help us to be content with what You have given us! Amen.