Complaining. . . Wahwahwah

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Exodus 16:8     And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him–what are we?  Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”

Numbers 11:1-2     And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp  Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.  

Job 7:19-25     How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?  If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?  Why have you made me your mark?  Why have I become a burden to you?   Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity?  For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be.”    

Psalm 106:25 -26     They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD.  Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness,    

Isaiah 53:7     He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Jeremiah 12:1-4     Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?  Why do all who are treacherous thrive?  You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart.  But you, O LORD, know me: you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.  How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

Jonah 4:1-3     But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.  And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?  That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

John 6:41-43     So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”  They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven.’ “Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.”

1 Corinthians 10:10     nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.

Ephesians 4:29, 31     Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  . .   Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Philippians 2:14     Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Colossians 3:12-13     Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19    Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.          

James 5:9-11     Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.  You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the LORD is compassionate and merciful.

1 Peter 4:9     Show hospitality to one another without grumbling

 

Complaints.  Hearing–or even speaking them repeatedly, pulls one or more persons down.  It’s depressing to hear complaints all the time.   I find I complain frequently–‘wow, that wind is cold and strong, Lord;’ ‘ouch, my hip and leg hurt–I hate sciatica,’ ‘Lord, You know my eyes are so dry and they do not see well.’  ‘I hate my dry mouth.’   So, Lord, I am very sorry for all these common complaints that .plague me almost daily now. 

I do acknowledge with sincere gratitude the lovely stars You have hung in the sky, the beautiful clear skies and weather we get so frequently here, the fact that I and most of my family are quite healthy and happy–although many do not know You.  I can afford my home, most of my desires to do things in this time of retirement and ability to travel a bit, and I am thankful for my many friends, my church, the Word which shows me new things every day.  New things–thoughts, truths–that God chooses are leaders at the time.  Which, when it penetrated my mind when read, shocked me.  That means God chose Hitler and other hate-filled men, full of wanting to torture and humiliate others–whether animals or humans.  The kicking of dogs or a fallen human means nothing to these evil persons.  Yet, the Word says that God chooses the leaders.   That gouged me deeply.  The past few years have been shameful for me as I view my country and what is tolerated and what is encouraged.

I cringe at the fact that education is being destroyed in this country, as is history.  Monuments taken down, the many being told that the Holocaust of the late 30’s and 40’s never happened.  The absolute disregard–and fear of many who did not agree with the leadership, yet feared the leaders, and they did not stand, they did not try to interfere.  Would I?

So many ties we complain about insignificant, truly not vital things–and this insults our God.  He created us, He gave us all, supplies us all, blesses us.  Does that mean we never have pain, hunger, illness, pain, worry, anxiety?  No, life brings some of that–that is a part of life.  But complaints hurt our God.  We all have some difficulties to deal with in life–caring for an ill friend or family member, dealing with our own illness or discomfort, dealing with unemployment, hunger, or one of many other things that could develop in life.

But God does not want us complaining.  The Israelites complained leaving Egypt when the water was bad.  And God directed Moses to throw a large branch into the water to sweeten and make it good again.  They later complained they had no meat–yet God sent quail each evening, and manna each morning–with certain rules to follow.  And yet, again, some of the people tried to gather more thinking they would be ahead of the game, or perhaps preparing and hoping for a midnight snack–yet the manna had spoiled.   But many of us complain–not thinking of how insulting that is to God.  We are given so much–especially in this country.  We do NOT trek 1 mile to retrieve water for the family each day, we have indoor plumbing and only have to reach out to a plumber and pay for problems with the plumbing.  We flip a wall switch–or say, “Alexa lamp on.” and we have lights.  Foods cooling of frozen in our refrigerators are kept fresh and healthy.  

I ma particularly thankful for the ocean outside my door with its many moods and weather affectations, going from blues and greens, to when very stirred up, brown and moody looking.  We have good weather about 90% of the time here–mostly clear skies, even with the heat and humidity, homes are equipped with AC units.  We are granted so much–much of which I think we take for granted in this country.

But complaints show God we are lacking in trust and we are discontent.  Our look and evaluation of our situations then need to be re-examined.  Complaints are led by a destructive spirit and we all know where the negative spirits come from–and it is NOT God our Creator, Son, and Spirit.  

There should be no grumbling or disputes.  We should always try to maintain an attituded of gratitude and focusing on God’s goodness and generosity and MERCY and GRACE.  There should be NO, (my self included, for sure) NO ROOM for complaints.  Paul had some issue with skin or body that he prayed God to take three separate times–and God said no as He wanted Paul to remain humble and that His grace was sufficient for Paul to deal with the issue.  And many of us have different issues with our bodies–achiness from arthritic joints in several locations, dry eyes or mouth, itching of eczema or psoriasis, pain from indigestion often, balance being off so mobility is now an issue and fear.  There are many different things that plague each of us, and the burdens are real and painful–whether issues with family–fights, separation, addiction, unemployment, mental illness and on and on.  But it is the complaints that God takes issue with.  

He knows your concerns, and He will listen, but first remind yourself–and then Him how very much your appreciate HIs mercy and grace and your freedom from eternal damnation because of what Jesus our Savior did for us.  Be thankful you can scratch your nose when it is itchy, that there is meds that can help decrease the discomfort, that water, electricity, cold storage and so forth are readily available for us.  We can celebrate our Lord and talk about our faith with others for now.   Be grateful and let God know that.  Just that gratitude, honors Him and He smiles with your grateful acknowledgement.  We are blessed and instead of complaining, we should shout our thankfulness and blessings to all.  Thank You, Lord!

In Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, published by Thomas Nelson, 2013 on page 296, for date October 9, it is written, ” Complaining to other is another matter altogether.  It opens the door to deadly sins such as self pity and rage.  Whenever you are tempted to grumble, come to Me and talk it out.  As you open up to Me, I will put My thoughts in your mind and My song in your heart. “

I am so sorry for all the times I unthinkingly complain with a mild discomfort.  Holy Spirit, please remind me when I have a critical or complaining thought so I can stop it, and remember to be thankful for all the blessings I enjoy.   I am grateful there are ways to relieve those minor issues.  I AM thankful–very–that You are guiding me daily and for the path You have taken me and ‘mybellaviews.’