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Do you ever think that your life would be great if only God gave you whatever you wanted? We can convince ourselves that we know best about our lives and needs. It’s natural for us to address the lack in our lives. But often, what we want and what we really need are two very different things.

God doesn’t give us everything we want which is good if our wants lead us on a destructive path. He does promise to give us what we really need. (Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:8). But sometimes He does give exactly what we want to reveal the emptiness, enslavement or consequence of our choices.

This happened to the Israelites in the desert. Psalm 106:13-15 remembers this. But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold. In the desert, they gave in to their cravings; in the wilderness, they put God to the test. So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.

The Israelites were ticked off because they didn’t have access to the same food they ate in Egypt. They were sick of the manna the Lord provided each day. They wanted some meat. So the Lord brought up a great wind that blew birds into their camp. The Israelites grabbed the birds and gorged themselves. Yet they got sick from them through their own gorging and the disease sent by the Lord.

Notice the progression in their action. They forgot the salvation the Lord gave from slavery in Egypt. They did not wait for His wisdom and plans to unfold. They gave in to their cravings for meat. In itself this craving may not have been wrong. But they demanded its satisfaction. They tested God daring Him to provide meat for them. He gave them what they wanted. They got terribly sick.

We see this pattern repeated again in Romans 1. They suppress the truth; though they knew God they did not honor him or give thanks to him; they became futile in their thinking; they exchanged God’s glory for images.Then Romans 1:24 Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. Romans 1:26 For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions.Romans 1:28 God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

We can look at those people shaking our heads with self-righteousness at their foolishness. Yet when we crave something or we want something, we can easily fall into the same pattern. We forget what God has done for us. We don’t wait for His timing. We give in to our cravings. We demand God provide or else. Sometimes, He gives us what we want to teach us the hard lesson. Other times He mercifully says no to protect us from foolish paths. He also shows great patience as we learn to trust His timing and will. Thank you Lord!

"Lord, though it seems strange to pray this, don’t give us what we want especially when you know it will destroy us. Help us to grow in remembering your salvation, waiting for your timing and resisting ungodly paths to satisfy our desires. Instead, help us to learn, practice and believe the truth that humans do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."