Years ago, my wife and I decided to take a vacation to Hawaii. I figured, if we didn’t go then, we would never again be able to afford the trip . . . So we went.

The trip was great! The ocean was like a painting . . . Different shades of blue, yet the ocean was crystal clear. Mountains in view from our hotel window were breath taking and blue skies with perfect balmy weather made every day perfect. We went snorkeling and were surrounded by brightly colored fish darting in and out of thecoral seascape. Wow! What a dreamy place.

While there, we met a couple that had been to the Islands often. They said that several years earlier, they moved from their home in the northern part of the
continental United States, to Arizona. Since that move, they said, because of Arizona’s similarities to Hawaii, their trips to Hawaii were not as breathtaking as
they once were. Really? It was still Hawaii!

Years later, I heard another couple who moved to Hawaii talk of how & “Utopia” had its down sides. Things were expensive on the Island . . . the couple complained that they never got to wear different types of clothes because the weather was always the same, perfect . . . They said that they were also locked in by the ocean, making the Island seem very small and confining . . . and on and on they went.

I’ve heard it said that when Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect, built a house, he would not put windows in locations that would expose spectacular
outside views . . . Instead, he made sure that those spectacular vistas were visible only after there was some sort of effort exerted, like going out onto a deck to see the beauty. His thought was, when a spectacular view is too easily seen, the “spectacular” dims and becomes common.

Manna from heaven . . . the people of Israel were fed by God as manna would appear on the ground for their gathering every day. How spectacular is that? It was even enhanced with the taste of honey. Yet, what once brought them excitement, became a source of groaning. How ungrateful!

In contrast to that, I showed the video Ee-Taow to our 6th grade young people, at church. I’ve seen the movie several times and yet its impact always convicts me. The overwhelming, chill giving, excitement that a tribe of people had, when they understood the Gospel, leaves me to wonder: “Have I allowed the spectacular Gospel of God to grow dim in my life? Like the reaction of the wandering people of Israel, to the manna God provided His people with, has the blessing of my continual exposure to that which is truly miraculous hardened my heart?”

Even the Angels are in awe of the glory of God . . . And that awe has not dimmed for all eternity. I should never catch myself waking up to ‘ho-hum; day. My breath should be taken away with each thought of what God has done and is doing on my behalf . . . Every moment of every day should be met with awe, as I consider the mercy and grace God has extended to me!

Help me to open my eyes Lord and see! 

Exodus 16:11:
“And the LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘ . . . in the morning you shall be filled with bread.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’” . . .  And when the dew
had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground.  When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another,
“What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is
the bread that the LORD has given you to eat . . . Now the house of Israel called
its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like
wafers made with honey.”

Numbers 11:4-6
“. . . and even the Israelites themselves began moaning, “We don’t
have any meat! In Egypt we could eat all the fish we wanted, and there were
cucumbers, melons, onions, and garlic.  But we’re starving out here, and the only
food we have is this manna.”
More than just a believer in God, I need to be a follower of Jesus!