Grumbling At God's Blessings

By Jason, M.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster

Can you imagine what it must have been like to be fed miraculously by God? Every day, the Israelites awoke in the desert wilderness to divine provisions- manna from heaven. It must have been amazing to be so obviously guided by God through the pillar of cloud and fire and then provided for by God through daily manna – exactly what was needed each day. It must’ve been amazing, right?

Sadly, it seems to have been boring and unappreciated by the Israelites. Numbers 11 shows the people of God complaining about God’s blessing and longing for slavery. “Oh that we had meat to eat!” they said. “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing.” (vv. 4-5) Cost nothing, really? Is being enslaved really “nothing”?

Of course, the Israelites in the wilderness were not the first to grumble at God’s blessings, were they? Adam and Eve fell because they were dissatisfied with God’s provision of the whole Garden of Eden. They wanted more and felt for sure that God was holding out on them. That’s why the serpent’s lies were so attractive to them.

If manna from heaven and the Garden of Eden were not enough to satisfy God’s people then, is it any wonder that we still struggle with grumbling today? Or perhaps, we should turn that around. We can be so critical or Adam and Eve for thinking God was holding out on them and of the Israelites for complaining about manna, but are we so different?

For years, I prayed to God for a Godly wife who would be a good partner for me and a good mother for my children. God answered my prayer in a marvelous way with my wife, Beth. She is a tremendous blessing from the Lord, yet how often do I grumble? How easily am I disappointed and frustrated when she does not live up to my expectations and give me everything I think I deserve.

In fact, if I am totally honest, I really can’t think of any of God’s blessings that I don’t sometimes take for granted or grumble about. I complain at times about my house, my car, my job, my children, my extended family. Every one of these things is a blessing from God and I deserve none of them. Most of them I sought for and prayed for and God answered my prayer when He gave them to me. Yet still I grumble.

When we grumble, we need to be careful what we ask for. The Israelites asked God for meat and God gave them what they wanted – and then some. God told Moses, “The LORD will give you meat and you shall eat. You shall not eat for just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you (Num. 11:18-20, ESV).”

And so here’s the lesson for me: Don’t grumble about what God has given you, longing for something more. As the old saying goes: be careful what you wish for, you might just get it! If I am so self-centered and foolish as to think that the God of the Universe who gave His only Son for my salvation is really holding out on me, then I’m setting myself up for danger! How many people have ended up in houses they can’t afford, cars they shouldn’t be driving, relationships that damage their lives, and more – all because they grumbled at God and despised His blessing!

So, thank you, Lord, for my wonderful wife, my kids, my job, my house, our cars and more. Thank You for all of Your wonderful blessings! You are so good and I do not deserve anything from You! You pour out blessing upon blessing, grace upon grace, into my life through Your Son, Jesus Christ! Keep me from the evil of grumbling. Keep me from believing the lies of our enemy, who wants only to steal from me and destroy me. Give me the faith to trust in You. In Jesus’ name and for His name’s sake, Amen.

Comments

[MAD21]

This is so true, Jason. Thanks for the reminder! We have a tremendous amount to be thankful for.