By Cynthia J. Bourne
7 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?
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
12 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.
Exodus 16:7-12 (KJV)
14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
Philippians 2:14-15 (NLT)
Let’s be honest, we, like the children of Israel, are apt to complain when life gets difficult. Why me? What have I done to deserve this? It’s not fair? Why can’t I have that? Why do I have this? Yes, we can complain. But have we ever stopped to think to whom we are complaining and about whom we are complaining?
Complaining always about what we are going through is essentially saying, “God, I don’t like what You are doing or allowing.” We are saying we do not trust His sovereignty.”
Complaining is not always wrong by no means. God encourages us to enquire of Him, but we must be careful that our dissatisfaction doesn’t wear away the foundation of peace, joy, patience etc gifted to us through the Holy Spirit, as this would bring harm to the testimonies we as Christians are to bring to the world, of God’s love and ability to sustain us.
So let us bring our troubles to God with a request that He helps us to understand how to negotiate the pathway fully trusting in Him to help us through our struggles with grace, bringing glory and honour to Him.
Ask – Why are there so many references to murmur and murmuring in this passage?
Seek – Have you ever complained against God?
Knock – God, we thank you that you walk with us through our struggles and sometimes even carry us. Forgive us for ever doubting You and help us understand that only relinquishing all to You will bring us through. Amen.
(Upper Photo by KAL VISUALS on Unsplash)
(Inner Photo by Alessandro Bellone on Unsplash)
