As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

— Psalm 42:1-2

As the sun continued to bear down on us, the bales of hay began to feel heavier and heavier.

The end of the field seemed to drift further out of view with the stacking of each row on the wagon.

Sweat poured out of us as if an internal pipe had broke. We were all way beyond thirsty.

Once the last few bales landed in place, we all turned our attention to the red spigot near the barn.

Connected to a deep well, this spigot brought forth what to us seemed like the purest coldest, and most refreshing water in the world.

It was healing to both body and soul.

The author of the psalm above was desperately thirsty as well.

Not for water. He was thirsty for God.

Circumstances within and without had left him in a place of longing.

It wasn’t the way it was before.

His people were not only tragically turning from God, they were also turning on him.

Undaunted, he kept hoping, remembering, singing and praying, confident he would once again be praising in the presence of God.

His thirst would be quenched.

What are we desperate for these days?

Is it rest, wisdom, clarity, healing, answers, provision, love, acceptance or security, just to name a few of the common “must haves.”

All of these are good things to desire.

Jesus encouraged us, however, to set down the good to take up the best.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added onto you.

“Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened and you will find rest for your souls.”

Foundations

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. … But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. …

— Matthew 7:24-29

When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.

— Proverbs 10:25

Our missions team had a clear target for the week: Assemble as many large and stable storage sheds as possible for the families whose homes were destroyed or seriously damaged by a series of tornadoes.

The group worked tirelessly, inspired by the gratitude of the families and the sense of being used by God to truly make a difference.

Each shed came in prefabricated sections. Once the foundation sections were set, squared, secured and level, the rest of the shed went up like clockwork equipped to serve its purpose.

Jesus taught all the time about living a life that was stable, strong and prepared for impact.

He told them he came so they could have the best life possible, both now and later.

His words: “Life and life to the fullest.”

At the end of one of his longest recorded sermons, he told them the story of two builders, one wise and one foolish.

The difference? Foundations.

He boldly and without apology told them following his words and teaching were the key to a strong foundation upon which a great life could be built.

None of us argue the reality of storms rolling into our little worlds. Different intensities and duration to be sure, but all will test our foundation.

We cannot opt out of the storms, but we do get to choose the foundation we will stand on in the midst of them.

As you read these words, you are standing on some type of foundation as am I.

We chose it. We laid it. We are building on it.

What are the storms revealing about our foundation? Have we chosen wisely?

Demanding

Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites! Does it seem a small thing to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the people of Israel to be near him as you serve in the Lord’s Tabernacle and to stand before the people to minister to them? He has given this special ministry only to you and your fellow Levites, but now you are demanding the priesthood as well!

— Numbers 16:8-10

…the ambition of treacherous people traps them.

— Proverbs 11:6

Growing up, our kids had what we called the “Whiner’s Time-out Chair.”

It was located in the room next to the kitchen and faced the wall.

All day long, the chair would be filled and emptied several times.

When one of the four girls began the screeching, high pitched whiny voice, off to the chair they’d go.

We’d say, “We can’t understand you when you’re whining. Sit in the chair until you’re done and then you can come back and join everyone else.”

A few minutes later they’d come back with the whining left in the other room.

Moses was constantly being worn out by whiners.

“We’re thirsty.” “We’re hungry.” “We want to go back to Egypt.” “We’re going to die out here in this wilderness.”

For many of them, they were right. They did die in the wilderness. Why?

Primarily for whining.

The Bible called it grumbling and demanding.

The story here records a particularly intense scene of people who wanted to be, who demanded to be priests, too. The Lord was not impressed and judgement fell quickly.

The demanding spirit that plagued the people of Israel then is one that continues to plague us today as well.

We whine about anything and everything: I want this. I want that. And, I want it now!

I still need the Whiner’s Time-out Chair from time to time.

One of the real antidotes to whining presented in scripture is thankfulness.

When we take the time to consider and name all the blessings God has poured out into our lives, demanding loses its luster.

Wiles is senior minister of Fall Creek Christian Church in Pendleton. He can be reached at 765-778-3166.