The Dangers of Complaining

How many times have you heard someone complaining about something and in order to show sympathy you joined in with them?


"Oh, this job is wearing me out."


"Me, too. It gets harder everyday."


"Boy, it's so hot today."


"Yeah, I wish it would rain. When was the last time we had rain?"


"Whew!" shaking your umbrella and removing your jacket, "that is some downpour. Traffic was so slow. I knew I'd be late ..."


Does that sound familiar? Could you imagine God having to listen to that multiplied by billions everyday? We must be wearing Him down!


The children of Israel had been subjected to cruel and inhumane conditions under the hand of Pharaoh. They cried out to God for deliverance and God intervened by sending them Moses and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt. But no sooner had they escaped from Pharaoh, they began to murmur and complain. Listen to them: "Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness" (Exodus 14 : 12).

Did they really say that? Yes, they did. They had experienced all the amazing miracles that God had performed by the hands of Moses, but now when it seemed like Pharaoh's armies would overtake them, they lashed out at Moses. And they continued to do that even after God had parted the Red Sea and made a way for them out of no way.

Are we any different from the Israelites? I am shaking my head, no. I know that I complain when I shouldn't. I give in to fear instead of faith, doubt instead of certainty, worry instead of prayer. Do you? The Bible tells us, "Do all things without complaining and disputing" (Philippians 2: 14).

Remember what Joshua did when he wanted to take the city of Jericho? "He commanded the people, Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!" (Joshua 6 : 10) Sometimes we have to "be still" and allow God to perform His work, because if we open our mouths and complain, we may stifle His purpose for our lives.

He Is Life

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He is Life! There’s no better way to describe the Son of God. He came down from heaven that “we might have life and have it more abundantly”(John 10: 10). Death and life are completely opposed to each other and therefore, whenever Jesus (Life) is present, Death has to flee. The Bible gives many references of Jesus as being 1) the Author of life, 2) Life, 3) the Giver of life and 4) the Restorer of life.

The Author Of Life

Peter said, “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this” (Acts 3:15). Jesus Himself spoke a lot about life. He said "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” v 24.

He is Life
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35) Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (14:6). The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us” (1 John 1:2)

He gives life

When Jesus walked the face of this earth, He gave life to all who came across His path. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it” (John 5: 21) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world (John 6:33). I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. (John 10 : 28). For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him (John 17 : 2). So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15: 45).

He restores life

Remember Jairus’ daughter? (Mark 5: 35- 43). And Lazarus? (John 11 : 17-43) And the centurion’s servant? (Luke 7 : 9 – 10). And the widow’s son at Nain? What did they all have in common? Jesus brought them back to life. Why? Because He is Life, the Giver of life, the Restorer of life. Death is no match for Him. He said to Martha, Lazarus’ sister, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25). Even while He was on the cross He restored lives. “The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life” (Matthew 27: 52).

Do you need life today? You may well ask why do I need life when I’m alive? Well, Jesus came that we should all have eternal life. Not the temporary, mortal kind of life we now have, but eternal life with Him in heaven, where we shall never hunger or thirst or mourn or shed tears. Do you want that kind of life? I’m sure your answer is yes. But Jesus can also bring life to your circumstances. To your marriage, your finances, your home, your dreams, everything that concerns you. Give Him your life today and He’ll give you His - eternal life.