I recently got convicted by God while reading the books of Exodus and Numbers. When God was leading the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land, the Israelites grumbled against Moses and God. The online Cambridge dictionary states, “Grumbling is to complain about someone or something in an annoyed way.” Often, we can be like the Israelites and complain about someone or our circumstances when we are in a transition phase in our lives. Some of the reasons we could grumble include:
1) Fear of the future
2) Pain we might be experiencing because of our circumstances
3) We might feel like we are treated unfairly
Some of the reasons the Israelites grumbled include:
1) They didn’t trust that God had better plans for their future.
According to Numbers 14:2 “And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness” (New American Standard Bible).
2) They kept looking back to Egypt and compared it to that life, even though they were slaves there.
According to Numbers 14:3, “So why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” (New American Standard Bible).
3) The journey was long, and they were often thirsty or hungry and exhausted. They focused on the hardship in front of them and forgot all the ways God was providing for them.
God made it clear that He does not like it when people grumble, and He also didn’t allow a lot of people who grumbled to see the promised land.
According to ”Numbers 14:22-23, “Certainly all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who were disrespectful to Me see it” (New American Standard Bible).
The lessons we can learn from the Israelites are that the longer we grumble or complain, the longer it will take to reach our next destination or the promised land. For the Israelites, if they had taken the direct route, it would have only taken 11 days, but instead, it took 40 years. According to Exodus 13:17-18, “Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in battle formation from the land of Egypt.
Complaining about something will never solve the issue; it will only make us bitter and angry. We can be sure that whatever happens around us, God is not surprised by it, and He is in control of everything. We can rest in that and trust that God will provide for us and give us what we need during our transition phase. According to Philippians 2:14-15, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God.”
