Stop Complaining!

My daily Bible reading led me through Numbers 11 this morning.  Numbers 11:1 says, “And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.”  The story goes on to tell us why they were complaining, they were tired of manna and wanted meat.  In the end, they got just want they wanted, “You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, ‘Why did we come out of Egypt?’”

We are also reminded in Philippians 2:14, “Do all things without grumbling…” 

It seems that we rarely realize that our grumbling and complaining are an affront to God.  Grumbling and complaining says several things to God that I don’t think we really want to say:

1.  It says, “God, your provision is not good enough.”  This was Israel’s problem with the manna.  They wanted more.  They felt that God had somehow slighted them.

2.  It says, “God, I know better what I need than you do.”  Again, Israel wanted meat, not manna.  Sometimes we just have to trust that God knows what we need more than we do.

3.  Complaining fails to realize that we are in the midst of a journey.  Israel had left Egypt (apparently forgetting what it was like to be in slavery) and they were headed for the Promised Land.  One problem, they had to go through the wilderness to get there.  Because they failed the “test of the wilderness” they never saw the Promised Land.

As we live our lives, and as things don’t seem to go our way, let us remember this:  God is in charge!  Accept God’s provision as adequate.  Accept the fact that God knows better what you need than you do.  And last of all, do not forget you are on a journey and the things you are facing now are preparing you for your “promised land.”  Be patient, trust God, and don’t fail the “test of the wilderness.”  Things will get hard at times but remember, you are a work in progress and these trials are shaping you for God’s best plan.