Faith on the Go: Ep: 6: When Glory Becomes Routine: The Curse of Familiarity

0:00 Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast with our Faith on the Go series. We're going to continue with the next episode titled, The Glory Got Too Common When God's People Forgot His Power. Why the Israelites complained in the wilderness after God delivered them. We know that story. and you get too common with the Lord, you can even get into a complaining attitude. But before we get into that topic, let's declare what God wants us to have from the prayer of Jabez.

0:41 God, thank you that your hand is upon us, that our territory is expanding, that you are keeping us from harm, that our prayers are heard and that they will be answered. Here, we will rise from pain, walk in truth, and return to deep intimacy with God, healed, empowered, and walking boldly in divine purpose. I love the story of the Israelites. One thing about that story, it just keeps me balanced. It really, really does. So welcome to Faith on the Go with your host, Connie Morris, where we keep it real, raw, and rooted in the word. Today, we're continuing our Faith on the Go series with the curse of familiarity.

1:26 And this one is personal. We're looking at the children of Israel. God's chosen people delivered by his hand, fed by his provision, led by his presence, and yet that wasn't enough. They still complain. Today's episode is called The Glory Got Too Common When God's People Forgot His Power. Because when we stop honoring God's miracles, we start resenting his process. So let's take a moment and let's talk about it. This is faith on the go, real talk, real growth, wherever you go, wherever you are. This message today comes from Numbers chapter 14, verses 1 through 4.

2:11 Let's read it. That night, all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, if only we had died in Egypt or in this wilderness, we should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. Wait a minute. Hold up. It says, if we only had died in Egypt or in this wilderness, we should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. How quick and easy is it that we decide that we want to go back to.

2:55 The beginning and start over. Hold up. These same people saw the Red Sea split, the water come from a rock, they got fed with heavenly food, manna from heaven, and yet now they're saying, let's go back to slavery? That's what happens when glory becomes routine. Remember, God was watching the cloud by day and fire by night, but that was so routine that the glory became such a routine that they had to never say, this is like, wow, this is nothing. I want to go back to slavery.

3:37 They became so used to miracles, they lost the reverence for the one who performed them. The curse of familiarity. The Israelites became entitled to the wilderness, entitled to the, in the wilderness. They came entitled in the wilderness. They stopped thanking God and started testing him. And instead of saying, God, you brought us out. You'll bring us in. They said, why did you bring us here at all? And I like the people. That's the danger of a heart that forgets. When you forget what God did, you start to doubt what he can still do. And here's the scary part.

4:18 Their complaining cost them the promise. That entire generation died in the wilderness, all because they got familiar with the favor and forgot to fear the Lord. Let's take a pause here. They decided with their mouth, the danger of your mouth speaking against God. They were like, you know what? This is nothing. We're in the wilderness. Take me back to slavery. Who says that? They did. And what happened? He said, you won't ever see. You won't see the promised land. You will die in this wilderness.

5:00 This is what your mouth says. This is what you should have. So what does this look like now, the modern wilderness in 2025? Let's bring it closer. You prayed for that job, but now you complain about the workload. You fasted for that relationship. Now you're bitter. God hasn't fixed them. You shouted over the open door and then doubted when it came with opposition. We do the same thing. We shout in church and panic in life. We give God glory. We give him glory on Sunday and give him grief on Monday.

5:40 And what happens when we treat his glory like a given? Come on now. I love that. We give him glory on Sunday and grief on Monday. We pray for a job, which is a J-O-B. We know it ain't gonna come easily. Hello. and you complain about the workload. You're faster for the relationship, but you're bitter that God hasn't fixed them. Could it be you? And you shouted over the open door, but doubted when it came with opposition. How do you keep God's glory from becoming common?

6:21 When you think about that, the children of Israel, God, I'm trying to think of too many things at once. The Bible was written for our learning, right? And so when you read the Israelites, when you read about the children of the Israelites, when we have God, the cloud by day and the fire by night, isn't that awesome that God didn't just send them out in the wilderness? He also sent his presence with them. And yet, and he fed them. And yet that wasn't enough. And their words became their curse. So if you are a complainer or a whiner, just be careful.

7:05 Because what you say is what you will get. You will get exactly what you are complaining about. I remember this one time at work, and it came suddenly too, because be careful, because, you know, like the children of Israelite, they didn't realize that God was listening, and they didn't realize that they were going to get what they had said just that quickly. I remember, and you probably have the same experience or similar, where I was working as a police officer. And, you know, I had like a nice chunk of years on there. So it wasn't really going to affect me. We were just at a raise.

7:47 You know, they freeze the wages for, I think it was about a couple of years, a wage freeze. But during that couple of years of wage freeze, it was about maybe two or three years of wage. They had froze the wages because of some kind of, you know, inflation or whatever they were doing. and there was people in the office that were complaining about their job. They were like, oh, I can't stand this job. I can't, this is that, this and that, and all that negative complaining, right? And so when they froze the wages, they also had to cut some jobs out. And lo and behold, the ones that were complaining the most, their jobs were actually on the line to be cut.

8:31 Remember the job that they didn't want the job that they hated or they were complaining about it was on the line and you could hear them you couldn't hear them anymore it was quiet in that office because they realized that those words that they had said no matter what how much they whine I mean they whine for so long that they might have shifted the atmosphere because God I said, I got to get these people out of here, right? And some didn't lose their job because they whined about how bad the job was, that it came a chance that they lost that job that they needed.

9:13 And so I was like, you got to be careful with your mouth because you will have what you say. Come on now. You will have exactly what you say and it can come suddenly. You can have what you say. Suddenly it will happen to you. So that's a warning to those who like to whine about everything. There's people that I'm not around them anymore. I try to keep to myself because the whiners, they whine about everything. And it's like, dang, what happens if that really, I always say this when I, if I happen to overhear, what happens if that really happens?

9:54 You know, because you're, you're saying things that, that could actually happen. What will happen if that happens? And then they start to wonder that you can have what you say. You can create your own world with your words. And so they start to kind of think about it. Hopefully, sometimes they quiet down, but they make sure that if they're talking about it, that I'm not around to hear it because it's true. You don't like that job, then get another one because if you keep complaining about it, you're going to lose that one. The one you hate, you're going to lose it. But let's keep going. How to keep God's glory from becoming common or familiar.

10:39 Number one, four hard shifts you must make so that you do not become like the children of Israelite. One thing that's not on here, you have to watch your mouth. Watch your mouth. Speak blessings and not curses. But number one, remember what he brought you through. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. You might not like the process that God has brought you through. You might not like that process, but you are in a different space and a place than you were before. Remember, God always has us on the journey. And so as we're on this journey, we might not like this particular moment in time, but just keep praying, keep fasting, keep believing.

11:26 That too will change. Amen. So remember what he's brought you from. You're not where you were yesterday and you're not where you're going to be tomorrow. So always, always just keep your heart open to the shifting and changing of the Lord. He's always taking us higher, always taking us to something much better. Number two, thank him even when you don't feel like. Thank the Lord even when you don't feel like it. It says, gratitude is an antidote for complaining. Give thanks in all circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5.18. You ever, I don't know about you, but I'm always, you ever leave the house and then you happen to pass an accident?

12:09 And you might have been running late that day, you know, and that could have been you, you know, but traffic is backed up and you're going to be late anyway. But you already ran, you ran out the house late. You got up late. Everything about your whole day is late. But in front of you was a real terrible accident and that could have saved your life. But you in the back, you fussing and honking a horn, not realizing that God saved your life today. It wasn't your time to go. And you just not feeling it because you're running late to work. The workplace is not going nowhere. The workplace ain't going nowhere. Call the boss. Hey, I'm caught in an accident. I'm going to be late. So that covers you right there from oversleeping. Am I right?

12:53 So always give thanks in all circumstances. Just give God the praise in all circumstances. He orchestrates your day even when you don't think he is. Amen. Number three, speak faith, not fear. Don't rehearse Egypt when God is calling you into promise. We walk by faith and not by sight. It's at Corinthians 5, 7. Remember, God is always shifting and changing things. He's shifting and changing our future. Things are always moving. If you're partnered with God, this too will change. So speak faith and not fear. Number four, never honor his presence daily. That's the first thing.

13:39 Not just when you want something daily, privately. Just honor his presence, period. He's always there. He's always around. In all your ways, acknowledge him. In all your ways, acknowledge him. Proverbs 3, 6. In all your ways, acknowledge him. Amen. And so how do we keep our heart open? Keep our heart, keep the glory from becoming common. Four hardships. Remember what he brought you through. Thank him even when you don't feel like it. Excuse me. Thank him even when you don't feel like it. Speak faith, not fear.

14:22 Honor his presence daily. And the final reflection. The Israelites had daily miracles. A cloud by day, a fire by night, and food from heaven. Dang, that was like excellent. And they still complain because the glory got too familiar. Let there not be us in 2025. May we never get so used to God moving that we stop being moved by him. He is still holy. He is still mighty. And he still deserves our honor every day. Let's pray.

15:03 Lord forgive me for every time I took your miracles for granted Forgive me for treating your glory like it was common Help me to remember what you've done And where you brought me And trust where you've taken me And where you're taking me Let me never be a complainer In the presence of your miraculous In Jesus name, amen. Thank you again for joining me on this podcast faith on the ghost, with this faith on the ghost series. I'm your host Connie Morris with Diary of a Black Woman. Don't let your familiarity block your favor. Don't let your comfort zone become your Egypt.

15:44 And keep honoring, keep trusting, and keep moving forward. Yes, keep honoring, keep trusting, and keep moving forward. I was just thinking just now, when you look outside and there's clouds outside. Remember, it was cloud by day and fire by night. Then he's paying attention to you. He's trying to get you to the next level. So make sure you subscribe and share. Visit DiaryOfBlackWomenLLC.com for more devotionals and connect with us on Acts and Instagram. Until next time, keep walking in reverence with faith on the go. Let me activate the promises of Jeremiah 29 in your life.

16:29 God knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. And when you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. He will bring you back from captivity and restore everything that was lost. Hold on. Your healing, your clarity, and your breakthrough are closer than you think. This is more than a podcast. This is a return to God's plan for your life, let's keep walking it out together. Let's stay connected. In Jesus' name, until we meet again.