“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, rejoice!” – Philippians 4:4 (NKIV)
Hallelujah! Praise God! The Egyptians are gone and the Israelites are headed to the Promised Land. Woohoo! I can just imagine their extreme excitement. They must have had banners flying with the Ark of the Covenant in between them and an actual cloud of God Himself leading them on in the sky (Numbers 10). Wow!
It gave me a chuckle and then suddenly sadness to see the next chapter’s title, “The People Complain”. Already? I find myself trying to judge these Israelites, but I cannot. After all that God has done for me, I complain all the time. By complaining and rebelling against Moses, by committing idolatry with images and by complaining to God about any and every situation, they ended up wandering around the desert in circles for forty years. The results of constantly complaining about their present situation was that most of them died and did not see the promised land.
In 2 Corinthians 11:25-27, Paul stated that three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, and three times he was shipwrecked. He also spent many years in prison, yet he told the Thessalonians, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). He told the Philippians in 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, Rejoice!” Paul had learned to rejoice and be thankful in all situations, something the Israelites had not mastered resulting in sad consequences.
Have you ever noticed that complaining is contagious? When anyone starts complaining, it doesn’t take long for everyone listening to complain. On the other hand, if the speaker speaks positive words, all who listen are encouraged and lifted up. The Bible states throughout the Old and New Testaments that the tongue is the hardest thing to control, but we should do our best to speak positively to Him and to others in all our situations for His sake.
