Are You Grumbling?

     Are you grumbling?  Are you complaining about it’s too hot outside?  It’s too cold.  It’s overcast.  I don’t want that food for dinner again tonight.  I don’t feel like putting away these groceries.  The list of complaints can go on and on daily!  We can so easily fall into this habit without even realizing it!  Grumbling can become a comfort zone!  It vexes God and brings down everyone around us!

This Ain’t Heaven Yet!  But Grumbling Is Sin!

     It is true that life is filled with inconveniences.  We live in a fallen, imperfect world; and we certainly will daily be irritated by imperfect people and imperfect circumstances.  As I have vented before many times to my dear husband, Charlie, “This ain’t [isn’t] heaven yet!”  We are more than welcome to pour out our complaints to God in a respectful way.  We can go to Him with our needs and emotions.  We can even share with a trusted family member, friend, psychiatrist, counselor, or therapist the things that bother us.  However, when we complain about our blessings or become petty or disrespectful to God, we cross a line that displeases Him.  In fact, we are in sin!

The Israelites in Exodus Grumbled

     God led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, where they had been in captivity!  He gloriously gave them victory at the Sea of Reeds, more commonly referred to as the Red Sea.  He brought them into the wilderness (desert) of Sinai.  If you read Exodus chapters 15-18 in the Bible, you will see many examples of the children, or people, of Israel complaining.  I encourage you to read those chapters.  In 1 Corinthians 10:1-10, we are told that we can learn from these Israelites in Exodus.  Verse 10 of that chapter says, “Neither murmur [grumble/complain] ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.  Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”  Those Israelites complained, and God disciplined them severely.  When Jesus Christ came to earth, He brought grace.  We are in the season of grace.  God demonstrates His patience toward us in this season.  Second Peter 3:9 (King James Version) tells us, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  Even so, let us aim to please God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Judge!

God Will Meet Our Needs!

     So, let’s look a little at Exodus.  In chapter 15:22-27, we read,

     So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore the name of it was called Marah.  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD, that healeth thee.  And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten [70] palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

As you just read, the people were so thirsty traveling through the hot, arid desert.  When they found water, it was bitter; and they couldn’t drink it.  So, they got fleshly and started murmuring, or grumbling.  God already delivered them from their oppressors.  However, they didn’t trust Him to provide drinking water for them.  So they complained.  Do we do the same thing?  When things don’t go like we want, do we grumble?  Do you grumble?  God made the water sweet in Marah, and soon they were enjoying an oasis in Elim, which had twelve wells of water and 70 palm trees!  God is good!  He promised them healing!  He will lead us to our Elims and heal us, too!  Let us have faith that our circumstances will improve because God loves us so much!

Did We Lose Our Thankfulness Like the Israelites?

     In Exodus 16:2-3, we read about the Israelites murmuring again when they didn’t have any meat or bread to eat:

     And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

They lost their thankfulness that God delivered them from slavery because they were very hungry!  In the midst of our inconveniences, did we lose our thankfulness for the ways God has delivered and blessed us?

God Hears Our Grumbling, Which Is Against Him!

     Verses 6-12 of that same chapter go on to say,

     And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that He heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?  And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against Him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.  And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for He hath heard your murmurings.  And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel:  speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.

The chapter goes on to say that God brought them quail and even miraculously made manna, angels’ bread, appear on the ground after the dew evaporated!!  God knew they were hungry!  He had a plan all along to satisfy their need for food He gave them!  However, they murmured!   They grumbled!  They thought they were just grumbling against their leaders, Moses and Aaron.  However, God said He heard their murmuring, and it was against Him!  When we grumble, we are murmuring against God, too!  –And God hears it!  –And He doesn’t like it!  No one else does, either!

Grumbling Tests the Lord’s Patience

     Exodus 17:7 says, “And he [Moses] called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?”

The Israelites tempted God.  That means they tested His patience!  They tried His soul!  They got on His nerves!  We can test God, try His soul and get on His nerves, too!  God has feelings!  Numbers 14:22 tells us, 

     Numbers 14:22-23 tells us, “Because of all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it….”  Those Israelites tempted, or tested, God’s soul so much, He denied them entrance into their promised land, which is today the nation of Israel!!  Only Joshua and Caleb and those people’s children entered in!  God takes grumbling very seriously!  If we want to rule and reign with Jesus in His Kingdom, we need to surrender the grumbling!

Pray the Flies Out of Your Ointment!

     Are you grumbling?  Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour; so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.”  I love this verse!  I pray all the time, “Lord, get the flies out of my ointment [oil represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit]!  I don’t want the flesh [carnal nature] to stink up my soul!  I want to smell fragrant in my life like the Lord!  I use this verse to pray for others, too!  “Lord, please get the fly out of their ointment!”  Grumbling is a fly in our ointment!  We need to pray out the flies!

Ask Jesus to Capture Our Foxes!

     In Song of Solomon 2:15, the bride of Solomon, the Shulamite, asks him, “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.”  Solomon in this book of the Bible is a type of Jesus.  The Shulamite is each of us who are Christians.  She realized that foxes were spoiling her tender grapes.  The actual word for tender grapes is blossoms.  Those careless foxes were knocking off the grape blossoms in her garden, and she appealed to Solomon to help her capture them to prevent their spoiling a fruitful harvest of grapes.  Are there foxes in our gardens?  Ask Jesus, our Solomon, to capture each and every one of them!  Grumbling is a fox!

Admonitions in the New Testament Not to Grumble

     We see more admonitions in the New Testament portion of the Bible not to grumble.  Here are a few:

     James 5:9-11:  Grudge not against one another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.  Behold, we count them happy which endure.  Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

If you endure suffering affliction, and life is full of that, God will bring you into a place of happiness!  Your trials will end!  Just like Job’s did!  (See the book of Job in the Bible.) The Lord will show pity on you!  He will show you tender mercy!  I like to say to Christians, “Every trial has a happy ending!” 🙂

     Philippians 2:14-15 says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings:  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”

Let Us Repent Today of Grumbling!

Let us repent today of any murmuring, grumbling, or disputing!  Then we will be blameless and harmless!  Then there won’t be flies in our ointment!

     Jesus told people when He was on earth, “…Murmur not among yourselves.”  We find this in John 6:43.  This is a great admonition for us, too!

Let Our Mouths Be Filled with Praise and Thanksgiving!

     So, what do you do when you find yourself irritated about the weather?  Thank God for the beautiful trees and flowers!  What if you are irritated about the dinner selection?  Thank God for having dinner at all!  What if you are annoyed because you have to put away the groceries, and you are tired?  Thank God that you have groceries to put away!  It’s okay to feel irritated, but let us guard our mouths against grumbling!  Let our mouths be filled with praise and thanksgiving!  First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  Praise God for it all, good, bad, or ugly!  Romans 8:28 promises us that He works everything for the good of His people!  It says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  God knows your needs!  He plans to meet them!  Trust Him, and let your heart overflow with thanksgiving to Him!  Thank Him in faith before the answer arrives!  Give Him the sacrifice of praise!  Hebrews 13:15 says, “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.”  Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name.”  Do these things, and God will be pleased and blessed!  Others around you will be uplifted!  You will be a savor of life to God and to others hungry for Him (see 2 Corinthians 2:16)! Amen!

Here is an anointed, beautiful song I love so much by Petra called “Thankful Heart”, which is below!  Find the joyful rendition of “He Has Made Me Glad” below that!  God bless you, my beloved friends!