God is good to us, because he is good, not because we are good. In our flesh, we deserve bad things, not the many good ones God gives. Yet people become surprised and angry when bad things happen, even though they are all we deserve in our sin nature. In our redeemed nature, God sees Jesus in us, and He loves to lavish good things upon us, but He does not want us to demand them. If we were surprised by all the good things happening in our lives, would we be more content? The question is how much will he give us? When we demand more than he offers, (our sin nature does that) we suffer.
We grow accustomed to our successful, easy lives, and we grumble when problems come, forgetting that many people lack any of these wonders. For most of us, we breathe easily without lung disorders. Our bodies move when we command them. We own more than one pair of shoes. We can cover our bodies from the cold and rain. We even have fancy clothes for special occasions and jewelry to make us sparkle. We have enough food to keep weight on our bodies so we don’t starve. We even have healthful food and desserts for treats. We have a roof over our heads, and we can even afford to put pictures on our walls for beauty. We have friends and family to comfort us and give us companionship. We have Bibles, and we can access church without going to jail for this.
We have all our basic needs met and even many luxuries and beauty. Often when a problem comes it does not even mean we lose a necessity. Our abode may need repairs, but we still have a house to live in. Money may be too tight for us to eat out, but we can still afford food.
We may get sick or injured but often we heal. A favorite garment or shoe may break, but we have others to replace it. Even in the tragedy of a loved one dying, other loved ones surround us with love, to comfort us, so we are not fully bereft, as some isolated people are. While God does not promise our lives will be easy, because he loves us, he does promise to care for us.
As a result, we forget how much we have, like Naomi (whose name means pleasant, unlike the name Mara which means bitter) who said (Ruth 1:20), “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara. The Lord Almighty has dealt me a bitter blow. I left here full, and God has brought me back with nothing.” Yet Naomi returned with her loyal daughter-in-law, Ruth. Naomi returned to Israel where good people like Boaz honored God’s welfare laws. Boaz allowed Ruth to glean in his fields (or gather fallen grain for free) to provide for herself and Naomi. Yet Naomi could not see these gifts (not yet—she did eventually.)
Even as we must not condemn Naomi, we must not condemn ourselves when we forget how good and generous God is when we complain. It is our sinful human nature that is bad, and God eagerly forgives us when we repent of our grumbling. Remember the words told to an adulterous woman, “Neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Now go and sin no more,” (John 8:11.) He surely won’t condemn your weakness for grumbling when you repent.
Jesus urges us to resist the grumbling or envious spirit. Korah envied Arron and grumbled in Numbers, chapter 16. Although Korah would not repent, and God had to take him (he died), God spared Korah’s repentant sons. They wrote Psalms 42-49, 84-85, 87-88. Instead of envying others, they thanked God without grumbling about their life.
God commands us to give thanks and not grumble. Refusing to give thanks and grumbling instead are sins. (1Thes.5:18, “But give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” +Phils. 2:14, “Do everything without complaining and arguing.”) When we grumble instead of giving thanks, we imply God made a mistake in what he gave us or didn’t give us. Our flesh likes to grumble anyway, because it lacks self-control. It wants its desires met, instantly (Romans 6:12, “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to make you enjoy its passions.”) But God’s Holy Spirit, living in us, yearns for us to recognize God’s generosity in what he already gave us (Romans 8:13b, “but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.”) The Holy Spirit also yearns for us to trust God with a childlike faith (Luke 18:14, “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”) We must trust, even when we suffer.
We will always battle the flesh until we die, so we must fight our urge to grumble. This sin can hurt us badly, because it steals our joy (John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy, but my purpose is to give them a rich satisfying life,” and John 16:22b, “Then you will rejoice and no one can rob you of your joy.”)
If you grumble too easily consider memorizing Scriptures that confront this grumbling. Ask grace-filled friends (who never shame you) to remind you. Write a prayer asking God to help you, and then pray it often. Practice the gifts of the Spirit (Gals.5:22-23, “But the fruit of the spirit is Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control, against such things there is no law.”) God can help you attack this sin and overcome it in the Spirit’s power. Then you can enjoy God’s goodness and blessings without demanding them. And you can face difficulties with an honest heart that admits we cannot demand God only give us an easy life (Job2:10, “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”)
Satan and your flesh want to grumble. Forgive yourself when you do grumble and keep thanking God (Proverbs24:16, “Though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up.”) I pray for God’s grace upon your life and for you to enjoy a thankful heart instead.
Thanks for joining us in this brief post.