(Num 11:1) Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.
The Bible says to do all things without complaining (Phil 2:14). Why should we complain when God is in control of our circumstances? But we still do. We get our eyes off the Lord and on what’s happening around us and we start grumbling. We walk around with a bad attitude, perhaps thinly veiled with a propped up smile and maybe even a “Hallelujah” or a “Praise the Lord”. God had done so much for the Israelites yet they didn’t see all that had gone right, only what was going wrong. After awhile the Lord just wouldn’t take it any longer. He actually sent fire among them and consumed some of them.
You see, God can only do good, and the Israelites by complaining were stating otherwise. Did you catch that statement, “God can only do good”? But we rationalize and say that if God can only do good then why all the bad? Well, if there’s any bad it’s only for our good in the long run (Rom 8:28). God who is good is taking the bad and using it to rid the bad from our life so that good can come. Kind of like the surgeon and his knife. The surgeon is good and the knife is just a tool to rid the bad from the patient’s body so that healing can take place. The surgeon’s intentions are always good. That’s just who he is and what he is called to do, and that is to bring healing. So our choice is:
Pain and complain.
Or…
Pain and praise.
The latter will turn our pain into gain. May our attitude of trust in ill circumstances be pleasing in the sight of the Lord while we stand and see Him work all things together for our good. That’s a lot better than burnout, if you know what I mean!
Louie