Experiencing God's Presence #168

Experiencing God's Presence #168

Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you.

Numbers 14:29-30

The Israelites faced an enormous obstacle on their way to the Promised Land. It wasn’t the Red Sea; God parted that with ease. It wasn’t the vast stretch of wilderness between Egypt and the Jordan; God provided bread from heaven and water from a rock to sustain them. It wasn’t the giants in the land; God had promised victory. No, the biggest obstacle the Israelites faced was their own attitude. Their complaints kept them from experiencing God’s best.

Complaints—or “grumbling,” as some translations express it—give voice to the fear and unbelief of our hearts. They are an audible expression of contradictions to God. Though God often invites wrestling and entertains our questions, He doesn’t respond favorably to accusations that He isn’t treating us well or is perhaps holding out on us. When we’re dissatisfied or confused, He has no problem with our honestly expressing questions and doubts (not in a spirit of unbelief but in a spirit of seeking). But if our true heart is making judgments against His ways, we are walking in the opposite direction of our promised land or, at the very least, prolonging our time in the wilderness. Grumbling and complaining don’t get us anywhere with God.

The Israelites who complained—and whose attitude was contagious to others, as attitudes always are—had to defer their promise to the next generation. Complaining doesn’t fit the culture of His Kingdom. Caleb and Joshua had a different spirit, so God preserved their lives until they entered the land. That’s a common dynamic among God’s followers. Those who submit to His processes experience fulfillment of promises; those who complain about the processes don’t. As those who seek the promise of His Presence and His abundance, we have a clear choice.

Lord, forgive any complaints I’ve uttered. I don’t always understand Your processes, but I submit to them. I know they will lead me into the fullness of Your promises.