TRUST

What is it about Arizona quail and Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News? Every evening at 5:30, when my husband and I turn on Nightly News, quail come to our back yard to feast. Not just a family, sometimes as many as 19. Their timing is precise and it almost never fails.

These unique birds must have a time clock embedded in their miniscule brains to know just when to come for juicy bugs and world news. The weather's pleasant and the door is open so I'm sure they're listening. Note to Brian: would you lighten up on world news a bit. There's a covey of little quail listening.

Bible Quail:

This reminds me of the quail story in the Bible. You knew I was going there, didn't you? When the Israelites roamed the desert for forty years, God met all their needs, including sending daily nutrition in the form of manna. There it was, every morning when they walked out of their tents: coriander-like wafers ready for the picking. It was nutritional and sufficient for the day. If they picked too much, it went moldy, emphasizing God's message to trust him for each day's provision.

True to human nature, the Israelites started grumbling. They ate manna in the morning and a little meat from their limited livestock in the evening. Still, they tired of the menu. God must have been exasperated, as he is with us sometimes. He provides but we grumble.

Well, he showed them. He sent quail. Lots and lots of quail. A year later, after a major gripe session, the Bible tells us, "Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction." (Numbers 11:31) Now that's a lot of quail!

We're told the people gathered and ate and while the meat was still between their teeth, the anger of the Lord burned against them and he struck them with a terrible plague.

What is the sin here?

It's grumbling and not appreciating the provisions of God who loves mankind. Period. As I look into my own heart, often I take for granted God's daily provision and forget to rely on his care for me. I am called to trust, even in the middle of life's greatest issues.

The quail who come to hear the evening news (I know, I know. They're not listening. It's a joke.) remind me since God provides for his creatures through their inner clocks and bugs in our yard, then surely he will guide me through life. He just wants my trust.

Can you join me in trusting God for the issues you're facing right now?

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