Back in April and May we were worried. It was dry and there was no rain in the forecasts. We had gotten to the place where we were calling for prayer individually and corporately. Farmers were wondering if there would be enough moister to plant. The grass in our yards was getting crispy and the ponds were starting to dry out. It was looking like it was going to be a long, hot and dry summer. Boy, were we wrong! It feels like we’re about to set a new record for rainfall in SW Georgia. I’m glad after all that I dug that french drain and hung those gutters but everything is so sodden around my house that I’m wondering if it’s making any difference. And the mosquitoes?! Don’t get me started! If you live in my neighborhood and are still praying for rain, please stop.

You see, I’m in need of some dry weather, a couple of weeks would be great! I’ve got a project going in the backyard and every day that it rains feels like another three days of delay. It was a bit easier to write that article back in May because at the time, the dry weather was to my advantage. There were no mosquitoes to plague me, the humidity was low and I was able to get some work done even if the dryness made it a little more difficult. Now everything is a sodden, muddy mess and it’s going to take several days just for it to dry enough for me to get back to work. Even as I write this, the clouds have split open again. I’m fighting hard against my human nature which wants to complain and get discouraged and question the Lord’s motives.

And it is a fight. When things don’t go according to our schedule or fall in line with our plans it’s easy to look at our circumstances and begin to question and complain. I don’t want to. I know better. I don’t want to be like the Israelites. The Lord had rescued them from slavery in Egypt and within the first week of their travels, standing on the shore of the Red Sea, they’re crying, “You’ve brought us out here to die!” If you read through the accounts in Exodus and Numbers you can see that it was a common refrain. Water gets a little scarce, “You’ve brought us out here to die!” Food supplies running low, “You’ve brought us out here to die!” Tired of manna for breakfast, lunch and dinner, “We wish we could die!” Standing on the edge of the promised land and finding out there are giants, “We’re gonna die!” Drama queens!

Or maybe just human beings. At the end of the day, when things aren’t going our way, we’re prone to the same kind of response. Maybe not quite as dramatic, but caught up in the same kind of doubt and discouragement that they were expressing. Paul told the Corinthians that these things were written down “for our instruction.” (I Cor. 10:11) and encourages them as followers of Christ not to give way to the flesh. In chapter 10, Paul is warning them against taking the grace of Christ for granted. He’s warning them against sins such as idolatry, sexual immorality and…grumbling. At its foundation, grumbling is a calling into question the goodness and wisdom of the Lord. It’s a subtle way of saying He’s not enough. We don’t put carping and complaining in the same category as sexual immorality or idolatry, but when we think about what’s going on underneath the complaint we begin to see it for what it is.

In v. 13 Paul declares that, “No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man. And God in faithful; He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Jesus said, “I am the way,….” When it comes to grumbling this is especially true. It’s how we win the fight. We remind ourselves of the goodness of God in sending His Son to rescue us from sin and death. We remind ourselves of His wisdom displayed in the Gospel where both love and justice are satisfied at the Cross. We remember all that is ours because of Jesus and trust Him in the sunshine and the rain.

IHMS,