Poisonous Discontentment

Verse of the day: Numbers 21:6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

Here we go again… What exactly does it take for us (note that I included “us” in what I am about to say) to be content with what the Lord chooses, or does not choose, for us? I state it this way because it was not just the Israelites in those days that murmured against God because of discontentment. We are just as guilty today of being whiners and complainers about what God chooses to allow in our lives, or not allow in our lives. I am not just talking about material things, but about circumstances as well. God has a plan for each of us that is according to His will. In this plan, there will be things that God will provide and allow, and things that He will choose not to give us or allow to enter our lives. It seems that whatever it is that God does for us, or protects us from, we still find something to complain about. The Israelites have seen God do great things for them. We are now at a stage where the crowd is intermingled with the people that were in Egypt, as well as the next generation of Israelites. They were now closer to entering the Promise Land than they ever were. What are they doing? They are murmuring. However, notice that they are not murmuring about God indirectly by complaining about, and to, Moses; instead, the Scripture tells us “the people spoke against God and against Moses” (v. 5). What exactly did they have to be discontent and dissatisfied about? God had just given them victory over the Canaanites who came against them; a victory they asked God for (v. 1-3). God was taking care of their needs by providing manna for them to eat; yet, they called it “light bread” or “worthless bread” (v. 5). Time, and time again, God protected them and provided for them, and what He received in return was their complaints. On this occasion, God did not tolerate such insolence and immediately sent fiery serpents against them, killing many of them. It is possible that the ones who died were the ones who were from the generation that came out of Egypt, as God was fulfilling His promise, through this occasion, that they would not enter the Promise Land. How often do we miss out on seeing the blessings in our lives, whether material blessings that meet our physical needs, or spiritual blessings that come from difficult situations that God ultimately gives us victory over? Yet, because it does not come in the form or manner in which WE think best, we complain. God used the very creatures that were already inhabiting the wilderness, and from which He was already protecting them from (Deuteronomy 8:15) to teach the Israelites that the poison of discontentment is deadly. How often do we complain about what God is doing in our lives, all the while being completely ignorant of the dangers around us that He is already protecting us from? How often do we want something that God knows will not be good for us, and provides something in its stead, but we murmur and whine? Often, we determine to go after whatever it is, then lament that it brought us more trouble than it was worth. We do this with material things that put us in great debt, and then we cry out to God to help us clean up the mess. We do this with relationships that we are in that have either gone sour, or relationships that we do not have yet, but want. We go after them, only to create heartache and pain that we could have avoided if we had just left them alone. Sadly, what we end up doing is blaming God for how things turned out, choosing to be blind to the fact that God put many obstacles in our way so that we would be discouraged from pursuing them. What exactly will it take for us to change our perspective on what God does for us? What will it take for us to look for the blessing in our everyday circumstances, before we resort to complaining and murmuring about the life God has chosen for us? If we would just stop and count our blessings, regardless of how “bad” life may seem, we will realize that God has been, and is being, better to us than any of us deserve. Do we not realize that when we are dissatisfied with what God is doing in our lives, we are outside of His will? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” The very next verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, tells us not to quench the Holy Spirit. When we complain, and refuse to be thankful, we hinder the work of the Spirit in our lives. We become stagnant in our growth, as the Holy Spirit is trying to work in us to produce His fruit in our lives. Galatians 5:22-23 describes this fruit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” An ungrateful heart has no joy or peace. It becomes frustrated and angry, causing it to be unkind. It becomes impatient and lacks self-control. Discontentment is a poison that will kill our faith and our relationship with Christ. The bottom line is that God has provided for us, in Christ, more then we deserve. As born again believers, let us be people who are filled with contentment and thanksgiving, and not let that old serpent, the devil, convince us that we deserve more or better than what God has already done for us in providing us eternal life in Christ!

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).