And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled
Numbers 11:1
The above verse is a pointer to one thing and one thing only – it never pleases God when we complain to His ears. I saw this recently and I thought to remind and encourage us never to complain about whatever it is we might be going through. Some seasons in our lives may just be extremely tough and our response may be to nag and complain about that season but the truth is, complaining about it never solves the problem neither does it make the problem(s) go away.
Let me show you proof from the story of Moses and the other children of God who lived on this earth and went through things that you may be going through right now. Numbers 11:1 shows us that the whole of Israel was faced with hardship and their response to this situation was to make complaints about what they were facing. Their response to what they were facing was displeasing to the Lord, it actually made Him really mad. Thinking about it, complaining about what they were going through was more or less saying to God He was incapable of helping them. They had easily forgotten the victories that God had brought them through and showed no form of faith in Him. On the other hand, Moses approached the hardships differently- He approached God’s presence with reverence, so much faith, and confidence that God could do so much to help them. You can see this in Numbers 11:11-15, Moses more or less had a conversation with the Lord, asking Him questions with the mindset to get answers and solutions to their problems. I believe that this is the mindset and approach the Lord would rather have us, instead of complaining – ask Him questions, talk to Him about everything.
Another scenario similar to the above story played out in Numbers 20 as well, the whole of Israel was faced with another form of hardship. They just refused to pay close attention to the God who was leading them. They responded the same way they had done previously- they complained. While Moses and Aaron on the other hand approached the Lord in a different way, they bowed down before the Lord. And the Lord graced them with His presence and told them the things to do to get out of their hardship.- Numbers 20: 6-7.
I strongly believe that God took His time to share these scenarios with us in the bible so that we could know and do better. It is absolutely impossible to please God with doubt, our faith in Him pleases Him and makes Him happy – Hebrews 11:16. Complaining about things God can change in seconds never solves anything, complaining more or less clouds our vision of how big our God is while keeping us stranded in the same spot for years. Now imagine this with me, imagine if there was no Moses in the midst of the Israelites, they would have remained stagnant and died complaining. But thank God, Moses knew better to approach the Lord with all of the troubles they had.
So today, as I wrap up this blog post I encourage you to speak to God about the things you may be going through. He is ever so near waiting to hear from you. And just as He showed Moses the answers to their hardships, He is willing and ready to show you answers as well.