The #1 sin of the Israelites was complaining. They complained before the law was given, and they complained after the law was given. After the law was given, Moses defined complaining as despising God:
“…because you have despised the LORD who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?’” (Numbers 11:20)1
Complaining was despising the hand that fed them, the arms that comforted them, and the God that healed them and delivered them. Loving God and complaining are opposite responses to God’s grace. Complaining was (and still is) no small matter!
When the law came, the “greatest commandment” would be:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
To complain is to break the greatest commandment. Complaining demonstrates unbelief. Unbelief is saying to God, “You have made promises to me, but I don’t trust You.”
But don’t feel condemned if you have complained. Today we are not under law; we are under grace. The more we know Jesus, the more we will trust Him, and the more we will love Him. We can try with great resolve to stop complaining and speaking negatively, but until we are filled with the joy of the Lord from understanding His great grace towards us, we’ll never be able to consistently zip the lip or force ourselves to think good thoughts and speak positively. The power of positive thinking only works to the degree that a person is strong-willed. Everyone has a breaking point in the flesh. Don’t try to stop being negative. Let’s just get to know Jesus, and we won’t be able to stop ourselves from praising Him and thanking Him and speaking words of life, even in the worst circumstances.
(from page 175 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.”
