How Dare I Complain?
Over these past months, I have done far more complaining than praising my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Waiting.
Uncertainty.
Financial pressure.
Watching my daughter struggle.
Wondering whether I would ever make it to America after more than twenty years of circumstances that I had accepted were impossible to escape or change.
Every delay seemed to present another reason to grumble. Every new obstacle offered another opportunity to question why the Lord had not simply made the path easier.
Instead of praising Jesus for His faithfulness, I found myself complaining about my circumstances.
That is a grievous sin.
Then I was confronted by Scripture.
Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins?”
LAMENTATIONS 3:39, LSB
That verse stopped me in my tracks.
The world tells us that we have every right to complain. If life is difficult, complain. If people disappoint you, complain. If your circumstances are painful, complain. We have become so accustomed to grumbling that we scarcely notice it anymore.
But Scripture asks an altogether different question.
Who am I, a sinner who deserves God’s judgement, to complain about the way the sovereign God governs my life?
That is not an easy question to answer.
One of the greatest examples of this is found in the nation of Israel.
After generations of slavery, God performed one miracle after another. He devastated Egypt with the plagues. He led His people out with a mighty hand.
Then I think about Israel standing on the far side of the Red Sea.
They had watched God split the sea in two.
They walked across on dry ground.
They watched Pharaoh’s mighty army, which had hunted them for generations, swallowed beneath the waves.
One of the greatest miracles in all of history had just taken place.
And what happened next?
They complained.
They complained about the water.
They complained about the food.
They complained about Moses.
They complained about the wilderness.
They even longed to return to Egypt, forgetting the cruelty and bondage from which the Lord had delivered them.
How could they witness such overwhelming evidence of God’s power, faithfulness, and mercy and still grumble?
Before I answer that question too quickly, I have to look in the mirror.
Because I see Israel far more often than I care to admit.
The Lord has shown me extraordinary mercy.
He has sustained me through years I never imagined I could endure. He has carried me through seasons when I had no strength of my own. Time after time He has provided exactly what I needed, though rarely when I expected it. Doors that once seemed permanently shut have begun to open. Prayers that appeared to have gone unanswered have been answered in ways I never could have orchestrated.
Even now, as I continue this journey towards America, I can see His hand leading me step by step.
And yet how quickly my heart can shift.
Instead of remembering His faithfulness, I focus on today’s difficulty.
Instead of thanking Him for how far He has brought me, I become consumed with how much further I wish I had to go.
Instead of resting in His perfect wisdom, I question His timing.
Instead of worshipping, I grumble.
When I do that, I am no different from Israel standing on the banks of the Red Sea, surrounded by undeniable evidence of God’s faithfulness, yet complaining because the next stretch of the journey is uncomfortable.
Complaining is not a small sin.
It questions God’s wisdom.
It challenges His goodness.
It doubts His love.
It suggests that if I were in control, I could govern my life better than He can.
What frightening pride hides beneath something as ordinary as grumbling.
This does not mean Christians must pretend life is easy.
The Bible is full of tears.
David wept.
Jeremiah wept.
Our Lord Himself was a Man of Sorrows.
God never rebukes His children for bringing their grief to Him.
There is a world of difference between lament and complaining.
Lament bows before God’s sovereignty, even while asking difficult questions.
Complaining stands in judgement over God’s providence.
Lament says, “Lord, I do not understand, but I trust You.”
Complaining says, “Lord, You have not treated me as I deserve.”
But that is precisely the problem.
If God dealt with me according to my sins, I would have no hope whatsoever.
Every breath I take is an undeserved gift.
Every answered prayer is mercy.
Every provision is grace.
Every new morning is another reminder that His compassions never fail.
“The lovingkindnesses of Yahweh indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22–23 (LSB)
The greatest miracle in my life is not that God is bringing me to America.
The greatest miracle is that He saved a sinner like me through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Everything else is grace upon grace.
When I remember that, my complaints begin to fade.
I still have burdens.
I still grow weary.
I still pray for the day this journey is complete.
But I never want to forget that every step of the journey has been ordered by a perfectly wise, perfectly loving, and perfectly faithful Father.
The Israelites forgot what God had done and grumbled about what He had not yet done.
May I not make the same mistake.
Instead, may I remember His faithfulness yesterday, trust Him with today, and leave tomorrow safely in His hands.
May I praise Jesus for what He has already done rather than complain about what He has not yet done.
May I remember the Red Sea behind me when I am tempted to fear the wilderness ahead.
And may I never again treat grumbling as harmless when Scripture reveals it for what it is, a sinful challenge to the wisdom, goodness, and sovereignty of God.
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing.”
Philippians 2:14 (LSB)