While Jan and I have always tried to watch our words, of late, the Lord is taking us to a deeper place. Every word of complaint we have about this life must first be examined to denote the source of our complaint.

After the mighty miracles leading up to the crossing of the Red Sea and the miraculous crossing itself, the Israelites still had not got the message. They became hungry in the desert and complained that their bondage in Egypt at least fed them. The Lord heard their complaints made against Moses and Aaron, but He knew their complaint was against Him. After Moses told the Israelites that God would miraculously feed them with quail and manna, he said, “Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us” (Exodus 16:8).

As Jan and I examine our words we are finding we are doing what the Israelites did – our complaints are about God, not anything in this world that is coming against us. Jan got this message a long time ago. I’ve come a bit later to the game.  Just recently, I made a comment about someone we love during a meal with friends. It sounded innocent. On the way home, the Lord called me on what I spoke. For the next few minutes, as we drove home, I had to repent of what I said to clear the slate.

As a person of faith, no matter how well we craft a sentence of complaint, it is always directed at the Lord. He is the only one who holds the destiny of an individual or circumstance. My complaints are ultimately aimed at Him, never at what I am struggling with. That one choice changes everything, especially our hope.