Forego the complaining

"Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down." Numbers 11:1,2

"You've got to be kidding me!" I exclaimed audibly as a heavy mist rolled in early yesterday morning and brought my visibility down to nearly zero within seconds. Even with my powerful headlamp, I had to slow down to a walk to avoid tripping on the uneven surface I was running on. "Oh why can't I live in a town that has a decent trail with lights?" I said out loud. Knowing complaining would get me nowhere though, I prayed, "Lord, I desperately need some light!" And then, upon turning around saw the brightly illuminated Dollar General building. "Oh thank you Lord!" I exclaimed as I carefully made my way to their parking lot where I spent the next hour singing praise songs while running loops until the sun came up. 

And you know, if we’re honest, we would all admit to complaining from time to time. But before we think it's perfectly okay to express our dissatisfaction or annoyance about something, let us consider this... when the Israelites "complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord.. his anger was aroused." But when Moses "prayed to the Lord.. the fire died down." You see, when the people complained to one another they accomplished nothing more than spreading their bad attitude, but when Moses took their complaint straight to the Lord, the Lord provided answers. 

So avoid the urge to complain to others my friend. Not only will you solve nothing by doing so but will poison the atmosphere around you. Take your grievances directly to the Lord instead and allow Him to guide you in rectifying them. You will not only please God when you do so but will gain the respect of others by your wise judgement. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that complaining solves nothing, especially when we voice those complaints to others. Help us to remember that You always have the answers to any problem we might have and hold the wisdom to help us put things into perspective and see the truth. Teach us to hold our tongues Lord and to bring all our perceived wrongs to you letting our speech reflect our gratefulness. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen, 

Happy Running!!!

Grateful - Elevation Worship