Memory Problems

Grumbling is one of the fastest ways to distort your vision and let in crippling discouragement. Complaining is blaming someone else for what we don’t like about our own life. Instead of looking for what we appreciate, we focus on what we despise. Grumbling will sabotage a workplace, a church, a family, or a community because it is deadly and destructive.

When Moses led the people of Israel through the wilderness on their journey to the Promised Land, they had a terrible habit of grumbling. If they were hungry or thirsty or tired or wanted something different to eat, they would complain. In Numbers chapter 11, the people began to crave other food than what they had to eat. They said, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Numbers 11:5-6). It is incredible how selective their memory was of Egypt. They remember the abundance of fish at no cost, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic! One wonders if Egypt was so fantastic; why did they ever leave it in the first place. Do they even remember the slavery, the harsh taskmasters, the endless brick making, and the construction of pharaoh’s slave cities? Their memory of the past was faulty.

Grumbling is contagious and quickly passed on to others. Their distorted view of the past prevented them from seeing and appreciating the present. It also completely robbed their future. This habit of being discontented with what God has given to us is a bad habit.  It is a refusal to recognize God’s gifts.  Moses was so overcome with hearing the people’s grumbling; he began to grumble to God about the grumbling.  What he had done before in this instance was to pray for the people. As an intercessor, God responded to his prayers and intervened on behalf of the people.

The antidote for grumbling is found in seeing our God-given purpose. Only then will we appreciate our present circumstances, the people around us, and, yes, even our present challenges. Only then will we keep moving toward our God-given destiny. Instead of grumbling, let’s try praying for people and things we don’t like and allow God to help us see things their way, and most important, God’s way.

(Parenting with a Long View) https://bovdbrooks.com/