We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by the serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.    1 Corinthians 10:10 ESV

I don’t know about you, but I can so identify with those poor Israelites. For years, I would read about them wandering around in the desert all those years taking 40 years to make a two-week trip. Sadly, it took many years for me to see I was just like them.

I got saved at the age of 11. I did well through high school. I began to backslide in college. I did well for a few years after that and began to backslide again. I was wandering around like an Israelite lost in the desert. The journey to God’s grace is a short one if we believe and confess our sins to Him and repent. I, however, took the long way around.

The Israelites may have wandered around for many years, but they were exceptionally good at one thing: grumbling or complaining. They wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. Their clothes and shoes never wore out. They never went without water or food. God provided all they needed, but still they complained.

Our Scripture passage refers to one particular time back in Numbers 21 when they grumbled and complained to Moses. In verse 5 they said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” It’s pretty bold to call the food God provides for you worthless. Keep in mind they were getting manna from the sky. They only had to gather it. They didn’t have to hunt it, kill it, skin it or cook it and yet they whined and complained.

This infuriated God so much that he sent fiery serpents among the people. These serpents bit the people. When they would bite someone, they would die. Many Israelites died from these snakes. Our Scripture passage tells us this was written in the Bible as instruction for us. The moral of the story is we should not grumble. We should be grateful.

To stop the deaths from these serpents, God told Moses to make a fiery serpent of bronze and put it on a pole and everyone who is bitten can look at the serpent and live. We are told in John 3:14, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

In this holiday season, there are many things we can grumble and complain about. We can complain about the traffic, the crowds, family members, and all sorts of other things, but be very careful. God wants us to seek Him and focus on Him. If we do this, we have no complaints. We understand His goodness, His mercy and His love.

We understand that He loved us miserable whining, complaining people enough to send His Son to earth to be beaten, tortured, humiliated and crucified on a cross so that His blood could wash our sins away.

My 11-year-old niece asked me last night, “Why does God allow us to have trouble in our lives?” Before I could answer, she said, “Is it to make us stronger?” I told her there are several reasons God allows trouble in our lives, but yes one of these is to make us stronger. The Bible tells us that we should rejoice even when we go through trials because trials test our faith and produce steadfastness.

This is why the Bible tells us to give thanks and praise in all circumstances. Matthew 6:33 tells us to focus on God and He provides all we need. Philippians 4:8 tells us to focus on the positive and the good things God provides for us.

We are either praising God and showing our gratitude and love for Him or we are grumbling and complaining. Which are you doing today? If you have troubles, turn them over to God and praise Him for being the loving Father He is to us. Thank Him for being there for you.

Giving our troubles over to God helps us to not complain, but to focus on the good in Him even when things are going bad for us.

Trust in God today. Don’t anger Him by grumbling but give Him thanks and praise for all He does for you.

Have a great day!