God commands us to be thankful. “in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:18).
It is healthy to give thanks. Scientific studies prove the health benefits of thankfulness, showing that thankfulness can fight depression and heal us physically. Thanksgiving will heal our souls and strengthen our spirits.
Thankfulness is connected to humility. When we are thankful, we acknowledge that we did not do it, but someone else did. This cuts down our pride. God is doing wonderful things in our lives and blessing us. We aren’t doing these things, but God is. Let’s humble ourselves before him and thank him.
Thankfulness shows we have a testimony. Whenever we thank God, we acknowledge that God did something powerful for us. We need to remember what God has done for us and thank him for it. Through our testimonies we overcome Satan.
Thankfulness boosts our faith in God. When we thank God for what he has done in the past, our faith is built up to believe he will do similar things in the future. God is not dead, but he is alive, and he is actively working in our lives. As we thank him we boost our faith.
The opposite of thankfulness is complaining. Just as thankfulness creates a positive environment and shows a healthy attitude, so complaining creates a negative environment and shows an evil heart. Complaining erodes our spiritual life and damages our bodies.
The children of Israel often murmured and complained when they wandered in the wilderness after they left Egypt.
They murmured about the dangers. When they were stuck between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, they thought they would die. They thought God brought them out of Egypt in order to kill them and bury them (Ex 14:11).
Even after God split the Red Sea, they still didn’t believe him. The journey was not what they expected. Instead of going into the Promised Land full of milk and honey, they were wandering around a desert. With their expectations unmet, they found plenty of things to complain about.
They complained about the food. They remembered the huge pots of meat that they used to eat in Egypt. They pined after the garlic, leeks, and cucumbers. They were slaves in Egypt, but at least they had plenty to eat (Ex. 16:1-2; Num. 11:1-10). Like Esau, they valued a bowl of soup over their spiritual birthright. They longed to go backwards rather than forwards. They were living tied to the past instead of moving forward into their future.
They murmured about God’s provision. Manna was small, like coriander seeds sitting on the ground. Each person had to go out and gather it every day. God’s provision required a little work, and they didn’t want to do any spiritual work. It was easier to eat what their slavemasters provided back in Egypt. Besides, the manna was so small. It was not as big as the Egyptian pots of meat. The manna was so monotonous – the same thing, day after day. They were tired of all of this. They wanted something new and exciting.
They complained about their leaders, Moses and Aaron (Num. 16:1-3). They didn’t like where Moses was leading them. Where was this Promised Land? Would they ever get there? They were sick of trudging around on hot sand. They wanted some better leaders who would take them back to Egypt. Even though they would be slaves again, at least they wouldn’t have so many problems.
They murmured about their enemies. Those giants looked impossible to defeat. They were bigger and stronger than they were. They thought there was no way they could defeat them. If inheriting the Promised Land meant fighting such strong enemies, they would rather not be a part of it.
Why did the Israelites complain so much? There were several reasons.
They didn’t believe God. They didn’t think he would keep his promises. They didn’t believe he would keep his word, bless them, protect them, and give them victory. Complaining is a symptom of unbelief. Whenever there is murmuring, you can be sure there is unbelief.
They were ignorant. They didn’t understand the situation. If they had known the future, they would have been happy. They would have known that God was carrying them into a glorious land flowing with milk and honey. But they were stuck in the wilderness because they didn’t believe the prophetic word of God. Their unbelief blocked them from knowing God’s victory and inheriting God’s promises.
They were impatient. They didn’t want to wait for God’s timing. They had their own schedule, and if God didn’t do things when they wanted him to do things, then they were going to get upset, give up, and run back to bondage.
They were fearful. They were afraid of the Red Sea, the Egyptian army, lack of food, lack of water, and huge giants. Any one of these things might kill them. They magnified their circumstances rather than magnifying God (making him big). This fear of death brought them into bondage (Heb. 2:15).
What was the result of their murmuring?
God was angry with them. Their unbelief opened them up to sin and disobedience. All their murmuring and complaining cut them off from God’s blessing and blocked them from the Promised Land. They brought destruction on themselves. They had to wander in the wilderness until they all died.
These things are warnings for us. All these things that happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness are written in the Bible to warn us (1 Cor. 10:6-11).
“Do all things without murmuring or complaining” (Phil. 2:14).
Murmuring and complaining will block us from fulfilling our calling. It will create an unhealthy and negative environment that is devoid of the Holy Spirit. Miracles will cease. People will not hear from God. Murmuring will harm us, both physically and spiritually.
We need to get all complaining out of our lives.
One of the best ways to get rid of murmuring and complaining is to thank God. Be thankful for all he has done in the past. Be thankful for what he’s doing now. And be thankful for what he’s going to do in the future. God has done awesome things. He’s going to do many more amazing things. Let’s recognize this fact and praise our mighty God.
Lincoln House Churches 