STOP COMPLAINING

The exit of Israelites from Egypt was accompanied with some of Bible’s biggest miracles, which includes the parting of the red sea. The Israelites were the fortunate ones to see it happen right before their eyes and what’s better – they got to experience it. After being a witness to such mighty feats, they must have realised they had nothing to worry cos they had such a Big Mighty God fighting for them Himself.

But No, In Numbers 11, they began to complain about their hardships. Instead of being quick to judge them, just think about us. Our salvation is no small miracle. Our entire destiny is changed because of one man’s death on the cross. He loved enough to give His life and to go through a tortured death. Someone so rightly put it – It was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross, but it was His love for you and me. In spite of this when we face some small problem, aren’t we already complaining.

What happens when we complain?

· We show how ungrateful we are. Come on, face the fact, everyone has their share of problems, - EVERYONE. You or I are not the only ones having problems. And again God’s word says- we have been given grace in measure to the problems we face to help us cope and overcome it. At any point in a person’s life, the good things in your life is much more than the bad ones. And if you can focus just on the problems and complain, we are definitely being ungrateful, to God himself. Learn to appreciate the blessings in your life and thank God for it and acknowledge it before others.

· We are being selfish. Again, everyone has problems. There are some who decide to bring it to God and leave it at His feet, for Him to solve and actually spend time in listening to others problems and praying for them and encouraging them. But there are also some who decide they are the only ones with a problem and hence will just want everyone to listen to their sob story.

· It shows you have no faith and you weaken another person’s faith as well by complaining. 10 men complained how Canaan was impossible (Numbers 13, 14) and the entire nation lost its faith and complained, wailed and even wanted to stone Moses.

· You pull a person down spiritually, mentally and sometimes even physically. The person who has to listen to your sob story is definitely going to feel sad, drained out at the end of it. After listening to the Israelites complain, Moses was so frustrated that he tells to God – Do me a favour and just kill me (Numbers 11:15). That’s exactly the effect complaining has.

· You bring God’s anger on yourself. Numbers 11:1 says that the people complained and God’s anger was roused and the fire from the Lord burned them. When you complain you not only lose out on God’s blessings but you also bring His anger on yourself (1 Corinthians 10:10).

· You lose out on God’s blessings. If you’re not grateful for what you have, don’t expect God to give you anything. By anything, I mean – ANYTHING!! And what’s more you will begin to lose what you have as well. God promised Canaan to the Israelites and again they complained in Numbers 13, 14 and what happened was they had to roam in the wilderness – hungry, thirsty- and they died without seeing Canaan.

· You lose out on God’s promise for you. Just like the Israelites lost out on Canaan – the land flowing with milk and honey.

It sounds real scary, doesn’t it!!

So do yourself a favour... Stop Complaining…

What is the right thing to do?

Take it to God (Psalm 142:2). He understands plus He can actually do something about it. The kind of solution God brings will amaze you. He finds solutions for even those situations which seem impossible. There are 2 scenarios in Numbers 11. One is that of Israelites complaining and they brought the fire of God upon themselves. Another is of Moses, he is depressed as well. But instead of complaining to someone, he takes the matter to God. God understands and gives him a beautiful solution (Numbers 11: 10 – 17).

If you have to share with someone to ask for prayer support, do so without complaining. God sees your motives and intentions. And don’t keep babbling about it; move onto to other things in life where God has been good to you. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Be Thankful. Put your hope in God alone and he WILL work wonders for those who hope in Him. Be patient and wait for God to act and faithfully pray and above all, again, be Grateful.

Romans 12:12 (NIV) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Philippians 2: 14,15 (NIV) Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[a] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

Ephesians 5:20 (NIV) always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Colossians 3:17 (NIV) And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

TIME-OUT WITH JESUS

TIME-OUT WITH JESUS

I don’t think I’d have to start with explaining what a Time-out is. For those who don’t know, it’s a break in a sport being played, called by one of the teams playing the game.

Today evening I was a little upset and I knew that I wasn’t thinking rationally which were causing me to do things I didn’t want to do. I knew what I was doing wasn’t the wise way to handle things but I could not stop myself either.

My baby meanwhile started crying and when I went to pick her up, I realized she wanted to be put to sleep. So I just sat on our sofa and held her in my hands and started singing to put her to sleep. As I was singing, my mind slowly shifted its focus towards God and I knew that God was exactly what I needed. I continued singing and my mind began to quieten down. And as I became calm God began to talk to me, in my heart. He showed me what had happened in the last couple of days and where I was wrong. And it was as clear as that.

Things had gone wrong which had left me hurt, insulted, ashamed and most of all disappointed and let down. And for the last two days that was all I knew, that I was hurt, that I was insulted… and so on and so forth. I probably could not see beyond that. I also did question God cause I felt what happened was as a result of me obeying something very specifically that He had asked of me.

But as I sat on the sofa, holding my baby and singing, God showed me where I was wrong. I hadn’t trusted Him. If I had trusted Him, I’d have been calm. If I had trusted Him, I’d not have reacted.

Two things happened as a result of the Time-out. One, my mind shifted its focus to God, because of which I was able to relax and let go of all my worry and trust Him. As a result of which, God’s peace filled my heart. Two, I was able to see where I was wrong. Till then I could only think of how I had been wronged but could not see where I had been wrong.

When in the middle of a problem, or if you don’t feel at peace, or you’re confused, or you don’t know how to handle something… or for no reason but just to hear the voice of God, take a Time-out. Try to sit somewhere calm, you could sing songs or just sit quietly and speak to God as with a friend.

Just like in Sports, time-out is sometimes also important in our lives. A time-out to just calmly analyse whatever is going on and what we need to do moving forward. It not only helps us calm down but also helps to shift our focus on God, where it should have been in the first place.

Isaiah 26:3 - You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.