And they Complained!
“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses…” Numbers 21:4.
We live in a culture and mentality that we want instant answers and instant success. We want everything, we see on TV. We want everything we can have but we don’t want to pay
for it when times get tight. Over the years, various choices have led us into challenging situations, and now we often hope for swift solutions. Can you imagine as parents if we bailed our children out of every mess instantly not letting them learn their lesson. I can guarantee they will be doing the same thing again, thinking my dad will get me out of this mess again. I remember that when I was about 10 years old, I stole a dog collar from a supermarket. I was caught by store security and they called the police and my father.
My father arrived first and then the police. The police officer asked my father what he wanted them to do. He told them to arrest me. They handcuffed me and put me in the back of the police car. Boy, was I scared! I want you to know that I am 75 years old and I still can see my father’s face and feel those handcuffs as I sit here and write to you. I probably would have done even more things if I had not taught this lesson.
Many of us have gotten ourselves into terrible debt by unwise spending and now we want an instant miracle by God to deliver us. Why, so we can spend money we don’t have and get back into financial problems. We get ourselves into these problems and when things go wrong, we blame everything and everyone except ourselves.
Israel spent 400 years in captivity in Egypt because they left God for other gods that the world had offered them. God was delivering them, but they became impatient and began to complain
because they felt He was not moving quickly enough. They spoke against God and against Moses who tried to lead them in God’s ways. How many times have we made very selfish and unwise decisions and when things go bad, we blame God! How many times we don’t think God is moving fast enough to answer our prayers and we begin to complain. God says, “can two walk together if they don’t agree?” (Amos 3:3). You know the answer to that one. God wants to deliver you but you MUST SURRENDER your favorite sin. You must submit to Him to have a fruitful life. There is much you need to learn and do along the way!