The land promised to our ancestors, The Land of Milk and Honey, was the ultimate paradise. A land far greater than we could imagine or fathom. Fruits and vegetables the size of their head, water as clear as glass, lack nowhere in sight, live stock grazing grass as far as the eye could see, and soil so fertile that anything could grow. A place where every want and need would be fulfilled instantly. The dwelling place Timon and Pumbaa could only get to in their dreams. This special place was set apart to only inhabit God’s chosen people, The 12 Tribes of Israel. They had just spent life in agony for 400 years in slavery and had been super naturally freed. Now their next challenge was getting to what was promised to them in one piece. They traveled down the longest path which challenged their patience, faith, beliefs, character, idols, and heart posture. They made it to their Promise Land front door step but never got to see it with their own eyes. Their fear, doubt, and complaining consumed them, so God’s chosen people never made it to their Promise Land. Instead the Lord abandoned them because they abandoned Him. Likewise, today there are so many chosen people forfeiting their Promise Land because of the same reason that prevented our ancestors two hundred thousand years ago.
Their hearts were filled with comparison to their old life, doubt in where God was taking them, they spent all their time complaining about their circumstances, and when they got there they didn’t trust the promise that was made to them. Complaining is a huge part of why they never step foot into their Promise Land, and it will stop you from seeing yours too. Complaining is the expression of dissatisfaction or annoyance about something. It is a choice to acknowledge what feels wrong over what is right. Complaining has always been humans’ preferred way to communicate. It is so common to point out what is lacking or what is too much that it has become a conversation starter. Unfortunately, it is a never-ending cycle of dissatisfaction that consumes our focus. It reveals an ungrateful heart for all to witness. Complaining makes your spirit’s vibe unattractive and makes you grueling to deal with. What has our focus grows, by taking root into our heart, while also overflowing out of our mouth to how we choose to speak. Complaining is not a conversation hot topic, it is an illness.
“Reap what you sow.” Complaining is a seed that will grow into an illness. Once sown in the atmosphere, negativity is what you have planted, and negativity is what you will harvest. Once the seed is planted you have no control over what it will grow into. First, your spirit body gets compromised by all the bad fruit you planted. Then, years of complaining weakens the physical body’s ability to function and decrease the body’s power to fight sickness, disease, and cancer. Just like germs, complaining is highly contagious. Therefore, staying away from complainers is crucial to not getting sucked into that lifestyle for the sake of your physical body, spiritual body and the loved ones around you.
Look at the lives of complainers and notice the direct correlation of delayed blessings and their complaining. Blessings are hindered, prayers are not answered because of the dependency and impulse to complain. Complaining is not what we think, it is saying that we can be god better than God. When He controls the temperature outside, the person who is serving you, the order of our lives, how fast or slow something goes, the type of job we have, etc. Complaining is rude to God because He is in control of every detail of our lives. Complaints have no effect on people, they go pass the heavens, and straight to His throne. He will do to you the very thing He heard you say. The willingness to complain about every minor inconvenience is telling. It shows how we would appreciate the things He grants us. God would never infect His Promise Land with the spirit of complaining.
The very thing that can overcome the spirit of complaining is the spirit of patience. Shift your focus, keep gratitude in the center of your heart, and allow patience to help you endure suffering to the end. Let patience do her perfect work by maturing your character. Patience is a fruit of the spirit, which shows how important it is for the will of our lives. Patience is not the act of waiting, it is how you act while waiting, it is a posture held over time. True patience is having the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Having true patience will be hard because the spirit of complaining will still try to steal your focus. Expanding the capacity to endure delay, trouble, or suffering with a pleasant attitude is how to keep the posture of true patience, which will subdue the spirit of complaining. TIP: If patience is not feasible at the time, just be quiet. Of His chosen people only 2 out of 12,000, Caleb and Joshua, got to witness The Promise Land and all it’s glory. Let’s be better than our ancestors by believing in what He has promised, tearing down idols in our heart, staying excited about where He is taking us, and having an upright attitude while we wait. To see The Promise Land we must endure not to complain. Allow patience to be your ride!
Promise Land! We on the way! Be there soon!
