Numbers 11:1
“And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.”
The effects of a complaining spirit go far deeper than just words that come out of one’s mouth. The effects of a complaining spirit affect ones ability to perform in the work of the LORD. The children of Israel allowed complaining to become a part of their journey to the Promised Land, and it eventually stalled their journey and kept several thousand people from ever entering into the Promised Land. The effects of a complaining spirit will affect your Christian life in several areas.
First, a complaining spirit affects your ability to appreciate God’s provisions. In the verse above, the children of Israel were not satisfied with God’s provisions for them as they left the land of Egypt. It was not good enough that God delivered them and provided for them; they wanted more. Be careful about not appreciating what God has given you. Don’t become the type of Christian who always thinks that what you have is not good enough. This attitude always leads to more dissatisfaction.
Second, a complaining spirit affects your ability to follow. The next thing you see Israel doing is complaining about Moses’ leadership. When you are not satisfied with what you have, then you will become dissatisfied with who you have. A complaining spirit will cause you to never like how your leader leads. It doesn’t matter what they do or how they do it, it will never be good enough for you.
Third, a complaining spirit affects your faith in God’s power. Right after God dealt with Aaron and Miriam about their disloyalty, the twelve spies went into the land of Canaan to spy out how to take it. The complaining spirit affected the faith of ten spies. Instead of seeing what God was about to do, they could only see the obstacles that they perceived would keep them from getting this land. Complaining puts blinders on the eyes of faith and keeps the Christian from seeing what God can do with the obstacles in their life. You will never successfully live the life of faith when you complain.
Fourth, a complaining spirit affects your destiny in life. The children of Israel allowed complaining to become such a part of their life that eventually they were not able to enter into the Promised Land. Instead of going forward they wanted to go backwards. Instead of looking upward they looked downward. Their whole future was destroyed because of their complaining spirit. Complaining will destroy God’s ability to do everything He wants to do in your life. You will never reach your Promised Land with a complaining spirit.
Friend, don’t let complaining become the roadblock to your journey of faith. Accept what God has given to you in life and be satisfied. The effects of complaining will always affect your disposition and destiny. Instead of looking at what you don’t have, train your spiritual eyes to see all that you do have. You will find that God will do greater things through your life when you’re satisfied with what He has given you. Stop yourself the next time you’re tempted to complain and instead purposely thank God for what you do have. Gratefulness always squelches complaining.