Complaining - Count Your Blessings
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess. 5:18
For many generations, the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians and endured hardships. God heard their cry for deliverance and used Moses as His chosen vessel to persuade Pharaoh to release them from their enslavement. God performed many miracles so that Pharaoh’s hardened heart could be swayed to release them. They had seen God’s power at work, yet when they encountered their first difficulty, they complained.
They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Exodus 14:11-12
Gratitude and Grace
When we read this, we wonder why they are complaining when they had seen God perform miracles on their behalf? We wonder why they would desire slavery instead of freedom? Their complaining revealed what was in their hearts. And this is the same for us. When we complain, it reveals the deeper things that are entrenched in our hearts. When we, like the Israelites, forget what the Lord has done for us, we will complain about our present situation. We will turn the proverbial molehill into a mountain that obscures what God has done and what He is doing. We don’t see the many blessings that He has graciously bestowed upon us, and ingratitude settles in our hearts.
The Israelites started their journey complaining against Moses and God. However, their complaints continue throughout their journey to the promised land.
Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat. Numbers 11:4 ( ESV)
The “rabble” influenced the Israelites to join them in their complaints. This can also happen to us. We hear colleagues at work, schoolmates, sports buddies complain, and we join in with them. What does this reveal about what’s in our hearts? Do we join in others' complaints to be with the “in crowd” because we feel insecure and fear being left out?
Perhaps other heart issues are causing us to complain, perhaps bitterness or resentment. Perhaps our hearts have been hardened because of the circumstances in our lives. No matter what they are, God is loving and gracious and will forgive us. He will guard our hearts and transform us so that His words of gratitude and grace will flow from our mouths.
The complaining Christian is usually an unhappy Christian. The cure for complaining is a heavy dose of counting your blessings. Warren Wiersbe
Reflection: Ask God to reveal the issues of your heart that are causing you to complain. Why not give them to Him so that He can transform your heart?
Prayer: Dear Lord, reveal to me the things that are in my heart that are causing me to complain. I let go of them. Transform my heart so that Your words of gratitude, love and grace will be on my lips. In Jesus’ name, amen.
