Grrrumbling
Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-13
"You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord" (Ex 16:8)
In the desert the whole community of men and women grumbled against Moses and Aaron. They remembered Egypt and called it a land of milk and honey (Num 16:13). They got what they wanted and also what they did not want — a terrible punishment.
Women grumble for a lot of things. Young girls often give trouble to their parents by grumbling about their food and clothes. Wives complain to their husbands about little things though they get to enjoy a lot of goodness. Parents grumble about their children’s grades. Why do we witness so many strikes across the country? Most want a salary hike. Employees keep grumbling about this and that instead of thinking about the plight of the unemployed. Grumbling has become a plague.
Think — all grumbling is against God, not man, and it upsets God. God hears your grumbling (Ex 16:7). What if the Israelites had not grumbled in the wilderness? Would they have died? Certainly not. At the right time God would have intervened. When we come to the New Testament, we understand that “all” the Israelites did not grumble, only “some” (1 Cor 10:10). So there was a sizeable number who refused to grumble against God. They trusted God for the provisions they needed and praised Him for the new life they were enjoying out of Egypt. Which group do we join?
First make a mental (or physical) note of all that you grumble against. The weather first! Do we realize we need the heat as well as the cold? The sun and rain? So stop murmuring about the heat and sweating, the dampness and the clammy weather and the slugs climbing on your garden walls. Praise God for the spread on the dining table thinking of the millions who go hungry. After watching the migrants in the TV there can be no reason for our grumbling.
The commonest cause for grumbling among women may be guests. That’s why probably Peter writes, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet 4:9). Let’s do it cheerfully thinking of all the lonely people waiting to see a smiling face. “Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door!” (Js 5:9). Make a grand decision to stop grumbling, to take the reason lightly and start praising God. You can do things to rectify matters without grumbling. Why, you can even do it with a smile!
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
Grrrumbling
Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-13
"You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord" (Ex 16:8)
In the desert the whole community of men and women grumbled against Moses and Aaron. They remembered Egypt and called it a land of milk and honey (Num 16:13). They got what they wanted and also what they did not want — a terrible punishment.
Women grumble for a lot of things. Young girls often give trouble to their parents by grumbling about their food and clothes. Wives complain to their husbands about little things though they get to enjoy a lot of goodness. Parents grumble about their children’s grades. Why do we witness so many strikes across the country? Most want a salary hike. Employees keep grumbling about this and that instead of thinking about the plight of the unemployed. Grumbling has become a plague.
Think — all grumbling is against God, not man, and it upsets God. God hears your grumbling (Ex 16:7). What if the Israelites had not grumbled in the wilderness? Would they have died? Certainly not. At the right time God would have intervened. When we come to the New Testament, we understand that “all” the Israelites did not grumble, only “some” (1 Cor 10:10). So there was a sizeable number who refused to grumble against God. They trusted God for the provisions they needed and praised Him for the new life they were enjoying out of Egypt. Which group do we join?
First make a mental (or physical) note of all that you grumble against. The weather first! Do we realize we need the heat as well as the cold? The sun and rain? So stop murmuring about the heat and sweating, the dampness and the clammy weather and the slugs climbing on your garden walls. Praise God for the spread on the dining table thinking of the millions who go hungry. After watching the migrants in the TV there can be no reason for our grumbling.
The commonest cause for grumbling among women may be guests. That’s why probably Peter writes, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet 4:9). Let’s do it cheerfully thinking of all the lonely people waiting to see a smiling face. “Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door!” (Js 5:9). Make a grand decision to stop grumbling, to take the reason lightly and start praising God. You can do things to rectify matters without grumbling. Why, you can even do it with a smile!
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
