Choosing Gratitude Over Grumbling
The story of the Exodus has become my favorite Old Testament narrative. Not only did God rescue the Israelites out of Egypt, but he actively led and fed them through their wilderness journey:
“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you know that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them. (Neh. 9:9-15 ESV)
God provided for their every need. Yet, after years of miraculous provision, as they prepared to enter the promised land, we find them wanting to go back to Egypt!
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” (Num. 14:1-4 ESV)
How can this be? A quick look back illuminates the problem: the Israelites had cultivated a habit of grumbling.
And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.” (Ex. 16:8 ESV)
Then,
But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (Ex. 17:3 ESV)
To this, God responded:
How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. (Num. 14:27 ESV)
Unfortunately, grumbling is often where my story often intersects with theirs.
In the same way that God led the Israelites out of Egypt, he led our family out of a life of comfort and security, calling my husband from his job as an executive in New York City into the world of college football. Since then, we have literally wandered in circles, moving nearly a dozen times.
Our wandering has often felt like the wilderness, but God has always been with us. His provision has been steadfast and, at times, miraculous.
And yet I am prone to grumble.
God provides a job for my husband after months of unemployment; I grumble about leaving behind friends and moving somewhere where I know no one.
God sells our home; I grumble about having to pack and unpack.
God provides a new home; I grumble about what is lacking.
At the end of Israel’s initial journey to the promised land, ten of the men they sent to spy out the terrain saw a bountiful land inhabited by men who were big and strong. Caleb and Joshua, on the other hand, saw a land flowing with milk and honey that had been promised to them by their God, who was bigger and stronger than the people in that land.
Their gratitude for all God had already done was the foundation for the two men’s assurance that he would secure for them the land he had promised them.
Gratitude helps us to see that God is bigger than our biggest problem.
It has been said that it was easier to get the Israelites out of Egypt than it was to get Egypt out of the Israelites.
I can relate to that. During our most challenging times, when grumbling opened the door to fear, I longed to go back to the comfort and security of our former life, even knowing that, for me, it was a form of captivity because it caused me to trust in something other than God.
Other times, when I witnessed God “parting the Red Sea” for us, I was filled with gratitude that enabled me to catch a glimpse of God’s bigness.
I know I am prone to grumble. I am trying to choose gratitude instead, even in the wilderness moments by focusing on who God is, remembering what he has already done, and relying on his promises:
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6 ESV)
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (Hab. 3:17-18) ESV
May gratitude and joy in the God of my salvation overshadow all temptation to grumble.
and her husband of thirty-three years live in Gainesville, FL. They have moved a dozen times, raising three children along the way. They have added a son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and two precious grandsons to the mix. When she is not packing or unpacking, Ann enjoys serving as a mentor mom for MOPS International, joining Bible studies, meeting friends for coffee, taking long walks, and watching lots of football. Ann is passionate about using lessons from her journey to help other women navigate change in their own lives.
Photograph © Kyle Glenn, used with permission
