We’ve all had to wait for something. We may have a dream or goal that isn’t happening as fast as we’d like. But how about waiting for forty years? Lack of patience and faith is why Moses heard a lot of complaining!
A big test of our faith in a dream or goal is our patience. When we look forward to something, we can’t wait for it to get here. We may have to save, labor, and plod ahead to reach a goal. Yet, our estimate of how long something takes can be way off.
In addition, we can be our own worse enemies. In the story of Moses and the Israelites, the group was ready to go into the promised land until ten spies gave a bad report of how strong their soon-to-be adversaries were.
Their lack of patience only lengthened the time they had to spend wandering around in the wilderness. And what was left for them to do? Complain, of course! But it was a horrible course of action. Throughout the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, we see how complaining led to some dire consequences. Yes, it even led to death!
So we can understand why Moses heard a lot of complaining. But how different are we from the Israelites? How often do we make things worse only by grumbling, arguing, and complaining?
Too often, we like to blame others for our mishaps and detours. But We cringe whenever we consider we might be the problem. It isn’t a scenario we like to entertain.
We like to blame instead of taking control of the situation. And what can we control when things aren’t going our way, or as fast as we’d like? It’s our attitude, our faith, and our determination that we can control. And we can consider what actions we can take to improve a situation.
We can be like everyone else and complain. Or we can take responsibility and improve the situation. There is always something we can do to make things better.
Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on October 6, 2015. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.
