"Complaining Saints"

But more than that, Jesus reminds us in the Sermon on the Mount that God knows our needs before we even ask.

The point here is that there is no need to complain. If we need something we will get it. If we don’t have something, it is because we don’t really need it, because it isn’t good for us, or because we haven’t received it yet. Remember, God’s answers to our prayers are “yes,” “no,” and “yes, but not now.” Our response should not be complaining then, but trust and patience.

It is a good thing that God is patient with us, and forgiving. How many times have we complained in the midst of His goodness, and found fault with the way He is administering the universe? We learn in Exodus chapter 16, however, and throughout the remainder of the Bible, that in spite of His people’s shortsightedness God graciously hears them.

And God generously gives them what they need. Verse 11:

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.”

Sometimes the Lord gives us what we need and not always what we want. But sometimes He gives us what we want, too. And notice also that He gives in abundance. The Lord not only gives the people of Israel bread, but also meat in the form of quails in the camp in verse 13. And He gives them not just a little bread, but He promises them they would be filled with bread.

Well, how can we grow from griping to gladness? How can we move from complaining to praising?

Firstly, we must trust the LORD completely. This trust means more than ascent to a set of abstract propositions about God, but rather is a whole-hearted reliance upon Him in daily living. It means “hitching your star” on Christ, to use the vernacular, and to cling to Him no matter what may come. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him,” Job says in Job 13:15. That’s trusting the Lord completely.

Secondly, we must thank the Lord continually. St. Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:6-7 that we are to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to let our requests be known unto God. And if we do, he promises that peace from God which passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds. Be thankful in everything. Good times. Bad times. In all times. As I said earlier: It isn’t humanly possible to be truly thankful and continue complaining.

And finally, we must tell of the Lord constantly. We had testimony meetings in the Baptist Church where I grew up. People would stand up and just share with the congregation what the Lord had done for them. We could use a little of that in the Episcopal Church. Sharing testimonies gives the one sharing boldness in proclaiming the Gospel. And the ones who hear them are encouraged by God’s loving intervention in the lives of others.

This principle was certainly at work in the Old Testament. Read through the psalms. From beginning to end you find the psalmists promising to praise the Lord publicly and share with the congregation God’s mighty deeds if only He would deliver them from trouble. David prays to the Lord for deliverance from his enemies in Psalm 22, that familiar psalm which begins with “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” If it comes, verse 22, David swears, “I will declare your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.”