I felt like the Israelites in the desert the other day. While nothing major went wrong in my day there were a bunch of small mishaps that got me complaining and grumbling about one thing after the other. As I laid down that evening I reflected on my day and wondered what I had missed by grumbling. I wondered what I had robbed my family of experiencing by my complaining. I vowed to be better the next day.
Grumbling is too easy
It is easy for me to point my finger at the Israelites and call out their sin. God had just miraculously delivered them from Pharaoh, the most powerful ruler on the globe, and He had done it in spectacular and humbling ways. Yet, the people quickly moved from praise and thanksgiving to complaining, murmuring and quarreling. “No water, Moses! Where’s the beef, Moses? I have blisters on my feet, Moses. Who died and made you boss? Are we there yet, Moses?” It was almost as if the Israelites had experienced spiritual amnesia! How quickly they had forgotten their gracious and miraculous deliverance! [1]
As I look at my own life, I see a journey riddled with incredible provision. Yes, there have been challenges and, yes, there has been heartache, but my God has been oh so good to me. And yet, day after day, I fight to push back the complaining about traffic, dinner options, technology speed, neighbors’ parking habits, and many other trivial things. It’s too easy to give in to grumbling. It’s the cheap, sinful way out. We’ve got to strive to be better than that. Like the Israelites, how quickly I too can forget God’s provision and deliverance!
God doesn’t like grumbling.
It doesn’t take long to see in the Bible that God is not a big fan of grumbling and complaining.
- Miriam complained and was struck with leprosy. (Numbers 12)
- Korah, Datham, and Abiram complained, and God literally created an earthquake and swallowed them up! (Numbers 16)
- Adam complained (Genesis 3:12), Cain complained (Genesis 4:5), Moses complained (Exodus 3-4), David complained (Psalms 2:1; 12:1-2; 22:1), and each time God had a poignant response.
Later in Scripture we are challenged specifically to restrain from grumbling:
- Philippians 2:14-15: Do everything without complaining or arguing…
- 1 Peter 4:9: Offer hospitality without grumbling…
- James 5:9: Don’t grumble about one another brothers and sisters…
Instead, we read over and over that God desires for us to love, forgive, and be thankful.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 4:29: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
But why? Why is complaining bad, and why does God dislike it from His people?
What my complaining says to God
My complaining and grumbling make a statement about what I believe about God. When I grumble, I am saying that God is not faithful, that He is not enough, and that He doesn’t love me enough. My complaining says God hasn’t provided enough for me to be happy, thankful, and joyful – instead my needs aren’t being met.
My complaining says my ways are better than God’s ways.
When I grumble, I am saying that my plans in this moment would be better than the plans God has given me. “If only I had it this way!” In a sense I am worshipping a false God… named me. My discontent says God’s means aren’t enough.
My complaining reveals my sinful heart.
God hates sin, and complaining and grumbling are sinful. It’s sinful because it shows a lack of trust in God’s promises. It shows a thankless heart and spiritual forgetfulness. My grumbling heart robs my life of joy and jeopardizes my faith and trust in God.
So how do we guard our hearts from grumbling?
The answer, I believe, is to remember. God wants us to remember His great goodness so we don’t forget His great story.
“He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
This incredible reality should penetrate the fabric of our lives. “As a Christian, we are not promised a life without suffering or heartache or disappointment. We will be sinned against and we will sin against others. Our work will overwhelm us. Our family and friends will disappoint us. We will suffer. But we should be people who respond differently.”[2] We should be people who live with a hope that lasts and a joy that never ends. People who remember what God has done and don’t allow our temporal difficulties of life to lead us to an attitude of grumbling and complaining.
Take a moment and look back on God’s fingerprints all over your life. Which of these statements do you relate with?
- Remember how God has protected you from making a disaster of your life.
- Remember how God graciously let you grow up in a godly family.
- Remember how God awakened you to the ugliness of your sin.
- Remember how you walked away from that terrible accident.
- Remember how your wife, sister, or mom survived cancer.
- Remember how you had mentors and key friends guide you in your faith.
- Remember how God sustained you during that season of unemployment.
- Remember how God miraculously healed you.
- Remember that impossible prayer request that God answered.
- Remember how you had no money and an envelope just showed up in the mail with exactly the amount you needed.
- Remember how the gospel came alive as it never had before.
- Remember God. [1]
Friends, remember God’s gracious deliverance and redemption in your life. Establish it in your memory. Memorialize it. Paint it on the walls of your house. Journal it and reread it each morning.[1] For God is good, sing of His strength and love every morning! (Psalm 59:16)
Growth Point:
Grumbling and complaining displeases God and reveals our sinful heart.
Scripture Point:
Read James 4:1-3. What can we learn about grumbling as a root of other sins?
Action Point:
Review the questions listed above. Add TEN statements of thanks to that list.
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