Are We There Yet?

February 20

Are We There Yet?

Sometimes I don’t have much tolerance for continual complaining and criticizing.  I can grow quickly impatient with constant negativity and pessimism as well as griping and grumbling.

I don’t know how Moses handled 40 years of complaining by the Israelite people.  They complained there was not enough water to drink, not enough food to eat, and then again that there was not enough water to drink.  They complained that the food God provided was boring, that Moses was too long on top of the mountain, that the Promised Land was too far, too hard, too dangerous.

In the book of Exodus, we hear about the first complaint about a lack of drinking water as well as the first complaint there is not enough food to eat.  Then, the cycle starts over again.   

In Exodus 17:1-4 we hear; “From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded.  They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.  The people quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’  Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me?  Why do you test the Lord?’  But the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’  So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do for this people?  They are almost ready to stone me.’” 

Moses resorts to complaining to the Lord God about the continual complaining of the Israelite people.  Moses runs out of patience.  We understand. 

Dealing with people who are always negative, always pessimistic, and always complaining and criticizing grows old pretty quick.  It is hard to always be the positive one in the room, to always be the optimistic one in the relationship, and to always be the one who is offering the word of encouragement.

The political campaigns last fall wore me out.  Everything and everyone at the state and national level seemed overwhelmingly negative.  It felt like each campaign was focused on describing how the opposing point of view was “extreme” and “dangerous.”  I heard precious little from any candidate that was hopeful, helpful, or holy.  Like Moses, my tolerance for all the complaining ran low.  Like Moses, my patience with all the criticism grew small.

I recall the Lord God’s message to Moses when his patience with the Israelite people ran low.  In Exodus 33:1-3 we hear; “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go, leave this place, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, “To your descendants I will give it.”  I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

The Lord God tells Moses to continue on the journey to the Promised Land even though everyone around him was doubtful and complaining.  The Lord God assures Moses that even though the people are losing faith, the Lord God is still going to lead the people into the fulfillment of God’s promise. 

The Apostle Paul offers this same word of assurance from God.  In Romans 8:25 the Apostle Paul writes; “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”  The foundation of patience is a deep and abiding faith in the Lord God and in the promises of His Word.

That was the challenge for the Israelite people during the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land; their faith in the Lord God was not deep enough to keep them hopeful about God’s promises.  I wonder if that is the challenge for many of us today.

When our faith in God’s goodness, generosity, and grace begins to grow small we become more critical of other people and ourselves, we begin to complain more about circumstances and relationships, and we begin to be less tolerant and patient with other people.

+I invite you to grow your patience deeper by taking steps to grow your faith in Jesus and His promises deeper. 

+I invite you to hold yourself (and maybe other people!) accountable when you resort to complaining and criticizing and grumbling and griping all the time. 

+I invite you to focus upon the promises of God so you can be more patient and more tolerant. 

+I invite you to engage in reading and reflecting upon the following texts in the Bible this next week.  Listen for what the Lord is saying to you about complaining and criticizing.

First Day—Exodus 15

Second Day—II Corinthians 9:8

Third Day—Exodus 16

Fourth Day—Numbers 14

Fifth Day—Colossians 3:13

Sixth Day—Exodus 17

Seventh Day—Psalm 23

When we do these things, our hearts will fill with joy rather than complaining, our minds will fill with hope rather than pessimism, and our soul will fill with delight rather than sadness.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug