-January 29, 2024-
Good morning beloved, happy Monday,
“Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”
(Exodus 16:2).
Why is complaining so common, so widespread, so popular? Complaining comes so naturally, it is as part of our sinful nature. It is so easy to complain. We complain about everything and everyone. There is in us an innate propensity to never be satisfied or content with what we have.
Complaining is possibly the most common sin in the world. When we as believers complain it shows we don’t appreciate everything that the Lord gives to us and does for us. The good news is there is a cure for complaining: give thanks for everything, every time, every day. Sound too simple? Sound too difficult? Sound too easy? Yes, yes, and yes! Yet we have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to guide us and help us.
We are no different than the Israelites in the wilderness. They complained when they had no water to drink (Exodus 15:24); to meat and bread to eat (Exodus 16:3-4). God knows our needs and He meets them. He tests our faith in what He allows in our lives so we will rely fully on Him. God told them, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not” (Exodus 16:4).
Complaining was not just a problem in the OT, it was also happened in the NT as well. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:14-15, “Do all things without complaining or disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in this world.”
When we don’t complain, we stand out; and when we give thanks instead, we really stand out. I am so guilty of complaining when things don’t go as I expected. I ask, “Why, Lord?” It isn’t easy to thank the Lord when everything seems to be going wrong. Just as complaining is habitual, so too is giving thanks. We need to rewire ourselves to think thankfully.
Paul urges us to give thanks in and for all things. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Ephesians 5:20 tells us, “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Have a blessed day of thanking the Lord in and for all things. Stay safe and healthy.
May our complaints be turned to thanksgiving so that we can really enjoy our Christian living,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 