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And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Numbers 11: 1

There's some stinking thinking going on and it'll surprise you from what direction the smell is coming. True confession: we all complain far more than we'd like to admit, including me.

When we express dissatisfaction with a circumstance that is not wrong and about which we are doing nothing to correct, we are complaining---and bottom line, complaining is a sin. God hears it, hates it and pushes everyone who persists in it toward a wilderness.

That's the subject we'll explore this week on the broadcast. Speaking of wilderness, complaining was one of the chief problems that the children of Israel carried with them as they wandered those forty years. They drove themselves crazy with their murmuring---against Moses, the food, God who rescued them, the heat---you name it they made an issue out of it. Note Moses' journal entry in Numbers 11:1-3, "Now the people became like those who complain.and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp." Guess that clarifies God's thoughts on the subject.

You may be thinking, 'I'll admit that complaining isn't a great thing to do, but is it really a sin? Who am I really hurting?'

Well, first, you're hurting yourself. You are choosing a response that doesn't go anywhere good. It may bring momentary relief to some frustrating situation as it satisfies our sinful nature but complaining quickly takes you down a slippery slope to anger, bitterness, and even depression.

God loves you. What hurts you, hurts Him. Complaining is also an affront to His sovereignty. In effect we're saying, "God, You had the chance to meet my expectations, but You came up short." In addition, we hurt others with our stinking thinking. A complainer leaves a smelly stink in the air around them and who wants to hang around that?

Joy-producing life change is closer than we may think. If we choose to reject complaining and trust God, He can replace our negative thinking with fullness of joy. By faith, ask God to show you when you are choosing this negative attitude. It's a prayer I'm confident He will answer because He wants you out of the wilderness even more than you do.

Father, in this moment, I ask that You would make me very aware of what I say and what I think. Keep the connection strong between how I deal with my circumstances and the joy that I experience. Forgive me for complaining, not just because of how it affects our relationship, but how it affects my relationships with those I love. In Your Son's name, amen.