Tuesday, January 14, 2025
11 days. That’s how long it was supposed to take the Children of Israel to journey from captivity to the Promised Land. Instead, it took them 40 years.
Why did it take so long? Did they make a wrong turn? Did they get lost? Did they make too many stops at Buc-ee’s? No—they got caught up in themselves. Their complaining, ungratefulness, toxic thoughts, and continual disobedience kept them in the wilderness for 40 years.
This Bible story has been stuck in my head since I read it during my devotion time a couple of days ago. Eleven days versus 40 years—that’s a pretty significant difference. It’s also sad. What stood out to me most was their complaining, ungratefulness, and toxic thoughts.
There’s no doubt that what the Children of Israel were going through was hard. Can you imagine? Fleeing your home, being chased by armies, walking through a sea (that opened up for you), not knowing what you were going to eat, and living with constant uncertainty about where you were going. I’m sure their stress levels were pretty high.
However, through it all, God guided them, provided for them, and sustained them. And what did the Children of Israel do? They complained the entire time. They were so ungrateful that they quickly forgot about the miracles and the daily provision of God. They lived so deeply in their toxic thoughts that they even preferred to return to captivity. They were so consumed by their constant complaining that God kept them in the wilderness for 40 years.
Kid’s ministry is hard. I don’t have to tell you that. The stress level can be downright overwhelming. I was reminded of this just yesterday when I was so inundated with issues that I didn’t know what to tackle first—so I took a nap. Can you relate?
It can feel like the wilderness: wandering through this Kidmin world full of uncertainty, not knowing what’s next. But just like the Children of Israel, God guides us, sustains us, provides for us, and works miracles in our lives. And, just like them, we can get stuck in the wilderness.
We get so submerged in the difficulty that we forget about the Promised Land that awaits us. It’s easy to fall into a cycle of constant complaining, toxic thoughts, and ungratefulness, and in doing so, we miss the miracles right in front of us. We become so focused on what we don’t have that we lose sight of what we do have.
Could it be that, as Kidmin leaders, we’re keeping ourselves in the wilderness? I’ll be honest—I know I’ve been there more than a couple of times. I’m definitely not proud of that. It’s not that we’re intentionally ungrateful; it’s that we become hyper-focused on the hard parts, and the complaining just starts to pour out. Ceaseless complaining leads to toxic thoughts, and that causes us to miss and dismiss the miracles at hand.
We are not meant to stay in the wilderness. Let’s capture those destructive thought patterns and flood our minds with gratitude. That will crush the complaints every time. See you in the Promised Land.
Debbie Rhoades is a KidMin veteran with more than 30 years of ministry experience. She is currently the Children’s Ministry Director at Grace Chapel in Franklin, Tennessee. Debbie is the author of “The Plate: The Who, What, Why, How, and How-Not-To’s of Burnout” and has another book coming out in September at the KidzMatter Conference called “Hold My Glitter, Overcoming Obstacles in Ministry.” She is also a contributor of KidzMatter Magazine and a faculty member for KidMin Academy.
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