Israel has just passed through the Red Sea on dry ground and have been saved from the pursuing Egyptian army. By the way, this was a miracle by the hand of God. Nothing in all creation could have done it. After the wind stopped, the people crossed with water on either side “congealed in the heart of the sea” (Ex 15:8).[1]They had already seen everything the Lord did in Egypt and they were able to walk on dry ground looking at a wall of water on either side of them (Ex 14:22). How impressed would you be with that?
That’s the problem with them and us, impressions and emotional highs just don’t last long. As soon as the people became thirsty in the wilderness, they started grumbling. God purified bitter water for them and they marched on. After two months, they grumbled again about food, even to the point of thinking it would have been better for them to have stayed in Egypt (Ex 16:2-3). God gave them quail and manna, all they could eat. But wait! There is more! They didn’t have water at Rephidim so they blamed Moses accusing him of taking them into the wilderness to kill them with thirst (Ex 17:2-4). God again gave them water.
Now compare David’s praise with the Israelite’s grumbling. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps 27:1). Throughout this Psalm, David is praising God as well as asking for help. He doesn’t come with grumbling but praise. He has confidence in the Lord and doesn’t think that the Lord is out to get him. He recognizes his true enemies and ask for help.
What are your true enemies today? Are they grumbling and an unthankful spirit? Those two can do more damage to most of us than an army. Most of us will never face the things David did, but when we forget how good the Lord has been to us in saving us from hell by Jesus’ death on the cross, we can easily fall into a grumbling, discontent, poor-me attitude. The solutions is to get back to praising God and thanking him for all he has done for us. While we should be thankful for our salvation, he also takes care of us in a myriad of ways. Seldom do we even think twice about them, much less give the Lord thanks for them.
Try it. Replace grumbling with praise. God will be glorified and life will be sweeter.
[1]For an in-depth analysis of secular scientist trying to claim this happened naturally, see: John K. Reed and Carl R. Froede, Jr., "The Red Sea Crossing: can secular science model miracles?" Creation Ministries International | creation.com, , accessed February 02, 2018, https://creation.com/red-sea-crossing-science.
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