There’s this kid I kinda know that works at a local organic restaurant that I frequent. I don’t know his name but I know his face because he always smiles. I roll thru the drive thru every week, ordering the same thing pretty much every time. He is always up-beat, friendly and chatty with me. I remember rolling through there on a Wednesday, every one’s least favorite day of the week, and he seemed so excited about it being Wednesday. “I don’t know why everyone hates Wednesday’s,” he said as he took my debit card. “I think it’s awesome because we still have the rest of the week to make it great!” I just laughed and smiled and inwardly cringed because I knew I didn’t feel the same way. I wanted to feel that way, but I always have this dread knot in my stomach on Wednesdays. I’m tired, whiney and I’m living on half of the sleep I need. But after his comment I thought about how badly I wanted to be like that kid, just happy to be alive, thankful for each day because it is a gift from God. Not ungrateful, complaining and ticked off because it’s Wednesday. Maybe I just needed more sleep or maybe I needed a new perspective.
In my scripture reading this morning I came across the Isrealites grumbling and complaining against God as He moved them from slavery to their promised land. They complained when they had to travel across the desert without the comforts they were accustomed to in Egypt. I’m sure it’s not easy to live off of manna every day for 40 years and to wear the same wardrobe for over half of your life. I can’t even imagine, just thinking about all of the clothes in my closet and the fact that I own probably 50 pairs of shoes brings their plight into perspective for me. And I honestly get tired of eating the same 7 meals over and over every week, but that pales in comparison to eating the EXACT SAME MEAL every day, 365 days a year. But even in that monotony, God grew angry with their complaining against Him. The thing is, He never intended for them to spend 40 yrs wandering in circles. It should have only been like a week and half journey. And the Bible tells us that He took them that way because the straight quick way would be full of battles they were not ready to face. Some of the fiercest tribes of warriors lived along that route and the Israelites weren’t warriors. They grew up as slaves accustomed to monotonous duties and not trained as skilled combat fighters. If God sent them the quick way they would have been slaughtered by these powerful armies.
So yeah even though the manna and the quail that God provided for them became redundant and probably tasteless to them and their clothes lost their fashionistic zeal, God did them a favor by keeping them hidden. He took the long, winding way but kept them out of sight of people that would have crushed them. He protected them. They didn’t know it and their hard-hearted, rebellious nature kept them from seeing His goodness in the situation. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit Indwelling with them-they only had a pillar of fire and a cloud to remind them that God still led them. Their understanding of God limited their thinking to a kind of “Us against God” mentality. Most of the interactions between the Isrealites and God that are noted in scripture are threaded with this underlying tone of anger; God became angry with them because they complained so He sent so much manna and quail that they got sick of it; they got tired of waiting on Moses to come back down the mountain so they created something tangible they could worship and God killed a bunch of them; they complained about being lost so and having no water so Moses got mad and hit a rock really hard. This constant hostility seemed to exist between them and God.
God wanted to reveal Himself to them but they were so ticked off from being inconvenienced that they didn’t care about spiritual things. They just wanted the food and water and they wanted it now. Are we any different? “Get us to our fine houses!! Where is that new car you promised? Why do you keep me at this crappy job? Where is that extravagant ministry you promised me?” Those are our accusations right? We don’t want to be inconvenienced by that stupid “Wednesday” that keeps showing up every week. We are caught in the middle and we hate it most days. Instead of looking at the miracles God provides in our lives we want to point out the fact that He still hasn’t fulfilled that one BIG thing He promised us.
The real tragedy is missing a revelation of God’s gracious nature because we are tired of being inconvenienced and stuck in the middle. Isn’t that really what life is about anyway? We are on a journey with our daddy and He wants to show us amazing stuff along the way. “Do you see that beautiful mountain right there? I put it there just to take your breath away! And that refreshing stream wedged neatly in that valley that you will have to walk through, I put it there for your survival but also because I know it will comfort you through that dark season. And don’t be afraid of that desert you will have to walk through, that’s where I do my best miracles,” says our Father. But we don’t usually hear Him, our complaints are louder than His still small voice in our hearts. What a tragedy indeed.
I decided to make Wednesday’s the best day of the week, just to remind myself of this spiritual journey I’m on. I tell myself I’m a spiritual being having a human experience. I’m literally an alien here. But the good news is God is with me. I never am alone, even on a crappy Wednesday when I feel tired and I want to cry. And it’s up to me to make the rest of the week a good or bad experience. I can make it great or I can make it horrible. I’m grateful for that kid at the drive thru. He reminded me that even Wednesday’s can be ok, not just ok but great if I want them to be.
How to Stop Hating Wednesdays
