2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Exodus 16:2-3, ESV
God had literally rescued the Israelites from the Egyptian army through the parting of the Red Sea. They were not only firsthand witnesses of a miracle, but were recipients of it’s benefits. Now they find themselves on the other side of possible death and definite slavery, sitting and grumbling against Moses, the very one who listened to God and led them to safety and freedom. How easily and quickly we forget not only what people have done for us but what God has done for us.
My mother-in-love raised her kids to redirect their focus from complaining about a person to finding good in them. She would listen to their frustrations and would follow-up with, “Okay, now say three good things about that person.” That is wisdom right there. The negative seems to rise to the surface when evaluating a person but it in turn rises to the surface in our hearts which can be deadly.
Protect your heart and your relationships by training yourself to focus on the good in others. Don’t be blind to the negative, but don’t allow it to define a person.
Today, if you find yourself grumbling, own your feelings but then don’t live there. List off some positives… they are there trust me! Just like the Israelites, we can tend to complain about the very ones who just helped us. We are great at forgetting the good. Let’s get better at remembering it instead.