A Moment With Pastor Fred

Israel was thirsty. They just sang of their deliverance after passing through the Red Sea. But very soon those same tongues had degenerated into a chorus of complainers. The water discovered was bitter. Undrinkable. Instead of asking God to meet their need we read, “And the people grumbled against Moses,” 

Ex 15:24. Moses corrected their thinking – their grumbling wasn’t really against him. “Your grumbling is not against us, but against the Lord,” Ex 16:8.

Ouch. We too are a nation of complainers. It’s so easy to do. In the summer we complain about the heat. In the winter we whine about the cold. We are so easily irritated when things don’t go our way. It appears harmless at first– a sigh, a moan, a negative comment. Such complaining is an indication of a sinful heart. Have you fallen into the habit of being critical? Ask yourself. Better, ask a friend, your child or a spouse? Be prepared.

Such negativism is contrary to working out our salvation. 

Grumbling works against our sanctification. We need to starve our grumbling and feed our worship. Let us confess our sin and purpose to shine brightly in this troubled world. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Phil 2:14-16.