“For the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.” Exodus 16:8
I was reading in Exodus last night, and it struck me how often the Israelites would complain and how quickly it was after the Lord had just performed some miracle for them. They saw the parting of the Red Sea and the deliverance from Pharoah, but three days later they were complaining to Moses that there was no water and they were going to die. The Lord had Moses cut down a tree and throw it into the water so that it became drinkable, but soon they were complaining that there was no food to eat. The Lord provided manna every morning and quail every evening, but they were soon complaining again about a lack of water. The Lord provided water out of a rock, but soon…
It’s easy to see when we read about someone else complaining, but how often do I complain to the Lord? I’m pretty sure that I don’t wait 3 days in between complaints! Although the miracles that the Lord has done in my life may not be as spectacular as those He performed for the children of Israel, they are miracles, nevertheless. Yet, it isn’t long before I’m complaining again and thinking that things are going horribly wrong – or at least that they aren’t going my way!
I need to do a whole lot more thanking and a whole lot less complaining, methinks.
Hmmm. DH just now got home early with a gorgeous long-stemmed red rose for me. No complaints here! :-)
The Old Testament is full of metaphors that portray the Israelites as children and God as a parent.
The complaining thing, I think we can all agree, is a classic kid trait.
I just wish it were limited to being a kid trait. Unfortunately, I see the trait too often in myself!
Reading your Post made me think hard. I ask the question . Do I complain to God? my answer was No, not now. I use to when I was I infant in Gods Kingdom. Now my complaining go to my hubby or child. Have read the Old Testament myself,and I do see the Complaints throughout. Even in the New Testament there is complaining, “If you were here this wouldn’t of happened”, Mary said. Complaining put the blame on someone else,I learned that years ago. Then I realized God put the blame on his son. and Jesus Christ took the blame for us. That is when I stopped complaining to God.
Now my Family complaining,I need to work on that. We are Habitual Complainers, this is our Nature. To break to Habit we need the Holy Spirit to help us. So, your post has made me think I need to work on stopping my complaining to the family. thanks for the post. I do read them and Learn!:-)
Thank you for reading! I think one of the things I got out of the verse at the top is that when we complain to other people, we are really complaining to the Lord. The children of Israel thought that they were complaining to Moses, but Moses said that their complaints were actually against the Lord.
The good news is that the Lord HEARS our complaints, and He answers. The bad news is that His answer is sometimes to give us what we think we want rather than what is best for us.
Thankfully, He can turn even those learning experiences into good.
Ok,now, did you write that post for me? LOL! I don’t like red roses, but I know I wouldn’t have complained