While It Was Still in Their Mouths — From Manna to the Bread of Life

Thankfulness doesn’t mean you stop dreaming. It means you stop grumbling while you wait.

I was thinking this morning… how wanting more—when it’s not surrendered—always pushes us toward sin.
It makes us discontent. Demanding. Blind to what we already have.

But thankfulness? It flips the whole thing upside down.

When we choose thankfulness in the waiting, in the small, in the hard—something strange happens.
We’re not empty anymore.
We’re full.
Not because we have more… but because we finally see what we already have.

The Israelites had manna—miraculous provision from heaven, every single day.
But it wasn’t enough for them.
They wanted more.
They demanded meat.
And God gave them what they craved—but it came with a cost.
Because their craving wasn’t rooted in need… it was rooted in rebellion.

Wanting more without gratitude leads to sin.
But thankfulness—even without more—leads to peace.

“But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the Lord blazed against the people,
and he struck them with a severe plague.”
— Numbers 11:33 (NLT)

And now here we are… walking through our own wilderness.
Also waiting for a promised land.
Also being tested.
But this time—we’ve already been given the true manna.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.
Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
— John 6:35 (NLT)

So let’s be thankful.
Not just for what’s ahead.
But for the Bread we already have.

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Reflection: What Really Happened at Kibroth Hattaavah?

The place where they died was named Kibroth Hattaavah — “graves of craving.”
They got what they wanted.
But it wasn’t what they needed.

Some may have eaten the quail without cooking.
Some may have seen the destroying angel come upon them.
All were warned by the same God who had already given them bread from heaven.

What killed them wasn’t the meat.
It was the heart that refused to be thankful.

“Now these things happened as examples for us… that we might not desire evil as they did.”
— 1 Corinthians 10:6

Thankfulness isn’t a side dish.
It’s part of the main meal of obedience.

And when it’s missing—just like in Numbers 11—
it’s a sign that something is spiritually rotting inside.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (ESV)