The Love of God in the Midst of Complaining

Encouraging... Day After Day

A fresh word of encouragement to uplift your faith for action today.

- The Love of God in the Midst of Complaining

Written by Lillie Jacobs

“Do everything without complaining and arguing, ” - Philippians 2:14 NLT

Hello Friends!

Today, I would like to encourage you about the love of God. I would like to share a story about what His unconditional love has meant to me, and what it might mean for you.

During my first year of Bible College, I was reading through the stories about the Israelites in the wilderness in the book of Exodus. I found myself annoyed, because all they did was complain. I kept wondering, “Why are they complaining, when they had just been freed from slavery in Egypt?” Well, I suppose the answer could be simply that the wilderness was hard and terrible. As annoying as it was to read all about their complaining, I had to stop and go look in the mirror, because … guess who is complainer #1?

The trip that I took to get to me to college left a lot to be desired. I admit, I spent the whole trip complaining. I complained about the trip itself, the cats meowing the whole time, having to sleep in the car, how hot it was, and how long the trip was taking. I complained when the trailer tire exploded, leaving us stranded on the highway. I complained about having to share a room with my sister when we arrived at our rental home. As it turned out, I would have made an unbeliever shocked at the number of things I complained about.

However, despite my bad attitude, God and His unconditional love showed up and was revealed to me. Even though I did nothing but complain, God just turned around and blessed me anyway. The Lord had put it on someone’s heart to pay for the majority of my college tuition, and I was left so humbled and grateful to God. That is the unearned, undeserved favor and love of God!

If you go back to the story with the Israelites, even though they spent the whole time complaining, God just kept blessing them throughout their journey. This was the great love and compassion of God. I’m not saying that complaining is a good thing. After the Law was introduced under the Old Covenant, their complaining led to punishment.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, we are now under the New Covenant, and the Bible says that we are still to…

“Do everything without complaining and arguing,

so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. ” - Philippians 2:14-16 NLT

Because of the immense grace that God has for us through our Lord Jesus Christ, He just wants to love us and bless us, if we would just trust Him. We do everything without complaining, because of the life of Jesus that dwells in us. When we live as children of God, without complaining, we shine His glory and love for the world to see.

During this time in my life, I’ve been learning about the power of thankfulness. The antidote to complaining is thankfulness. Being thankful is what opens the door for God’s love and blessings to flow much easier. Calling out to Him before complaining also works. Look at what is said in Psalms 107…

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.

For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.

Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.

Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.

“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.

He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.

Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” – Psalm 107:1-9 NLT

God is so full of love for you, and He wants to provide for you. I encourage you to take some time each day to thank God for the little things in life, because God wants to turn those little things into bigger and greater things. There is no need for complaining, when we know, understand, and believe the love that God has for us in Christ. Be blessed and encouraged, and no matter what uncomfortable or inconvenient things come your way, know that God is waiting to show His great love for you in all of it.

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. “ - Romans 8:37-39 NASB