Complaining

One of the worst ways that Christian believers can hurt their testimony for Jesus Christ and fail in their walk with God is to complain. We often are guilty of complaining. Yet, God knows our needs and hears our words. God opens His hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing (Psalm 145:16). He knows our wants before they are even formed on our tongue. He is faithful in all things and will not let the righteous beg for bread. So why are we so discontent? Why do we complain to each other? Why don’t we pray more and trust Him more? There is a consistent theme in the lives of the Israelites that left Egypt. They complained. In fact the Bible tells us of once such instance when they complained in the book of Numbers chapter 11 and verse 1 says, ”Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.”(Numbers 11:1). Over and over, they saw the miracles of the Lord to provide for them and protect them. They were witnesses of His ever constant presence and received daily manna from heaven. But it wasn’t enough. They wanted more and bigger and better and newer. They even complained that they wanted what they had when they were slaves. How quickly we forget. It was because of their oppression in Egypt that God intervened to save them from slavery. God answered their prayer in unbelievable ways, but it wasn’t enough. And over and over, they were punished for this behavior but they didn’t change. How come? I see patterns like this in my own life too. The Lord will reveal to me a message in the morning like “be thankful today” or “be quiet today.” For some reason though, I remember His message after I disobeyed. I have frequently asked the Lord how the Holy Spirit was able to impress upon me my sin immediately after I did it instead of helping me before. The answer is always the same…a lack of self control. We speak without thinking, complain to whom ever will listen, and become forgetful in the busyness of the day. The responsibility isn’t all on the Lord. We need to be active in our faith and fight for victory. Let’s stop being hearers and complainers and become doers of the Word. It will help us to not complain and be a more thankful person.