By Bruce Green
Near the end of their journey in the wilderness, Israel started complaining—again. It began with them losing their patience, and once the lid was off, everything spilled out. They spoke against Moses, God, the food the Lord had provided, the lack of water, etc.
Chronic complaining is a spiritual toxin as well as an indicator of unbelief. It not only poisons the complainer, it is highly contagious and can bring down a home, an office, a church or even a nation.
God thought the matter serious enough to send poisonous snakes. The intervention resulted in death to some of the complainers while others lingered on the brink. The people confessed their sin, asked Moses to pray for them and he did.
Fifteen centuries later, Paul told a group of disciples in the Roman colony of Philippi to do everything without complaining or arguing. It’s not difficult to see that he was drawing upon Israel’s experience in the wilderness to challenge the believers there to trust God as He led them on their journey.
When will life get back to normal? When will I be able to go back to work? How are we going to get by until then?
How is this time going to affect our children? Why is my life more difficult than others I know? These are wilderness questions. They reflect the kind of issues real people living real lives in the real world wrestle with at this time.
We can allow them to build up and become toxins in our lives or we can trust God to lead us through them.
Whether it’s in the wilderness, a Roman colony, or in the middle of a pandemic, God will faithfully shepherd His people on their trek of faith. He is our poison prevention. Trust Him.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
“My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” (Psalm 28:7)
You can find more of Bruce’s writings at his website: atasteofgracewithbrucegreen.com.