I don't know about you, but I don't like whining babies or children. I find it annoying, and it certainly isn't the best way of getting what they want from me. Naomi knows that we have a 'no whining' rule at home. When she start to whine, she knows that she's not going to get what she wants. So she's learnt to 'negotiate' he way to everything now :) Yeah... smart move, but it's just a tiny bit annoying when I find myself giving in just coz she actually makes sense and had all the right reasons.
Lately we've gone through some tough times and I've had to remind myself not to complain or grumble. As I went through it, I was reminded of the story of Moses and the Israelites in the desert.
If you read from Exodus 14 - Numbers 14 (you may skip some bits and pieces in the middle), you'll find that throughout the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Israelites again and again grumbled against God.
The Israelites were captivated in Egypt as slaves for hundreds of years. I can't imagine living as slaves being good. They must've been praying for a hero, a saviour, a rescuer every single day. From generation to generation, they must have been praying. Finally, after so many years, so many generations, Moses came to rescue. Empowered by God, he led the Israelites out of the slavery in Egypt.
The destination is a land full of milk and honey, land so prosperous you can grow anything and it will live and bear fruit. It's the land God's promised His people a long time ago. The catch is... they need to travel through the desert to get to the other side, and this is where the grumbling began.
To have been able to escape out of Egypt was a miracle in itself. God sent ten different plagues or disasters so that Pharaoh would let these people go. God did great things so that the Israelites could witness with their own eyes His great mighty acts. They've seen water turned into blood, plagues of frogs, boils, flies, locusts, and many more. They've seen all Egyptian firstborns died while the Israelites' firstborns survived. They've seen thunder and hail, and they've seen the RED SEA PARTED!!! How much more did God have to show how mighty and able He is???
The Israelites were captivated in Egypt as slaves for hundreds of years. I can't imagine living as slaves being good. They must've been praying for a hero, a saviour, a rescuer every single day. From generation to generation, they must have been praying. Finally, after so many years, so many generations, Moses came to rescue. Empowered by God, he led the Israelites out of the slavery in Egypt.
The destination is a land full of milk and honey, land so prosperous you can grow anything and it will live and bear fruit. It's the land God's promised His people a long time ago. The catch is... they need to travel through the desert to get to the other side, and this is where the grumbling began.
To have been able to escape out of Egypt was a miracle in itself. God sent ten different plagues or disasters so that Pharaoh would let these people go. God did great things so that the Israelites could witness with their own eyes His great mighty acts. They've seen water turned into blood, plagues of frogs, boils, flies, locusts, and many more. They've seen all Egyptian firstborns died while the Israelites' firstborns survived. They've seen thunder and hail, and they've seen the RED SEA PARTED!!! How much more did God have to show how mighty and able He is???
Despite of having seen these miracles,...
When they ran out of water, they grumbled against God (Exodus 15:24). With great patience, God asked Moses to threw stick into a bitter oasis so they can drink.
When they ran out of food, they grumbled again (Exodus 16:3). With great patience, God threw manna/bread pieces from the sky every morning and provided them with their daily bread.
When they ran out of water again, you'd think they would just trust in God's provision and ability, but NO, they complained and grumbled again (Exodus 17:2). Without anger, God asked Moses to hit the rock with his staff and water came flowing out of it.
When faced with challenges to enter the promised land, once again they grumbled against Moses and God, and repeatedly they said they'd rather be left to die in Egypt!
Just reading this makes my head boil with anger.... what a bunch of ungrateful people!
God's rescued them out of bondage, but instead of getting appreciation and thanks, all He got is complaints and grumbled one after another. They complained against the very thing they've been praying for their whole life! It sounds like they really did prefer to be in living in slavery!
Finally God's had enough. Right at the gate of the Promised Land, right near their destination, God said He would not let these ungrateful people enter the Promised Land.
Numbers 14:26-29
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron. "How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. Now tell them this: 'As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me...
Because when they complain, they always say something along the line of God wanting to kill them in the wilderness. So God did to them "the very thing he heard them say".
I don't blame Him, I would have killed them a long time ago!
Numbers 14:26-29
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron. "How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. Now tell them this: 'As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me...
Because when they complain, they always say something along the line of God wanting to kill them in the wilderness. So God did to them "the very thing he heard them say".
I don't blame Him, I would have killed them a long time ago!
Thank goodness God is so patient and loving, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
Throughout the past 6 weeks we've been trying to lease out our Melbourne house, and for the past few years we've never had any issue. Normally we could get new tenants as soon as the old tenant left, but this time around week after week passed by and after about 6 weeks we still didn't hear any good news.
We wanted to sell our Audi, so that the sale proceed could help us cover the costs while it's vacant, but even that was a struggle in itself.
So we ended up spending weeks just on our knees, praying for both of these issues to be resolved.
It wasn't easy... Every single day we have to remind ourselves not to be like these Israelites. We had to make a conscious decision to keep thanking Him daily, to keep believing in His ability, in His love, in His great plan for us. We chose to stay positive, to stay in faith, to stay serving Him. We chose to believe that He was able. That with a click of His fingers, everything will be resolved. That all these difficulties happened for a reason.
Thank God after about 6 weeks, just a few days ago, our battle ended. In the same week, we received good news for both our Melbourne house and our Audi (it was sold!!!!!). It was honestly like a massive stone was lifted off our shoulders. It was a celebration! It was a victory! We finally saw the light!!! The praises and the faith paid off, we didn't end up staying in the 'wilderness' for any longer.
Do you know that.... the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land (Jericho) was suppose to take only 11 days, but the Israelites spent 40 years because of their attitude. So I didn't want to make the same mistake as they did.
See this map below (taken from http://www.keyway.ca/htm2001/20010411.htm):
The red line represents their journey/route through the wilderness.
"YOUR ATTITUDE DETERMINES HOW LONG YOU STAY IN THE WILDERNESS" Joyce Meyer.
Grumbling and complaining doesn't do anything good for you. Just like Naomi could not get what she wants by grumbling or whining, so can we with God. I'm sure He has a lot of patience and He's very loving, and He might still give you what you want even though you grumble a lot, but you might get there quicker if you just praise Him and make Him happy instead :)
When you want something from someone, you 'bribe' them with kindness, not make their ears hot listening to your whining and complaining. That will give you the biggest chance of winning.
So today, whatever you're grumbling about... can I just remind you of what happened to the Israelites in the desert when they grumbled against God after what God had done for them. My suggestion is... try counting His blessings, you'll find that your list of blessings might actually be much longer than your problems. If it's not.... well my friend, time to take a look at yourself. How long have you been grumbling for? Maybe it's time to try praises and smiles, your 'dark tunnel' might soon come to an end :)
If you do not know God, or you're still doubting His existence, may I challenge you.... SEEK HIM and you shall find Him! He wants to be found by you. He has loved you long before the creation, and He has a great plan for your life, here and in the eternity. He's just waiting for you to accept Him into your life, as your personal Lord and Saviour. If you want to find out more, Joyce Meyer has a very simple teaching on Salvation. Visit her website: http://www.joycemeyer.org/EverydayAnswers/BecomeAChristian.aspx and check it all out for yourself.
Good luck and God bless you!
