The Downfalls of Complaining

This month's devotional comes from Mr. Marco Davila from Heritage Baptist Church in Palmyra, N.Y.

"So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?"

Exodus 15:22-24

"And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

Exodus 16:3

"Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"

Philippians 2:14-15

The children of Israel are widely known for their complaining. Their long journey through the wilderness caused them to focus on what they thought was best instead of what God thought was best for them. The Israelites complaining was linked to disobedience and a lack of faith. But what about us? How is our attitude when things don’t go the way we plan? Sadly, many times we complain. There are a few things that I find whenever we start complaining. 

First, complaining causes us to focus on our problems, rather than the answer. The Israelites had God on their side, and they still chose to complain. Focus on the good and realize that we have a problem solver on our side which is our Heavenly Father.

Secondly, complaining about our circumstances, won’t change them. Complaining doesn’t solve our problems; it just makes them worse. Have a good attitude when something doesn’t go your way. 

Third, when we choose to complain, we take our focus off of God and his goodness. Throughout our life, we can see how good God had been to us. God knows our circumstances and we need to realize that He is in control. 

Through every problem, we can find a solution and as a Christian, we have a source to all of our problems, which is the Word of God. Let’s put our focus more on God instead of the circumstances around us!