Avoid the following toxic attitudes like plagues if you want to have victory in the wilderness: –
2. Grumbling, Complaining & Murmuring CONT’D.
The children of Israel were faced with an existential threat in the wilderness, they made a vow and God, in his mercy, intervened. The strongman was not only completely exterminated, God gave them a resounding victory. When faced with a little hardship on the way, they started grumbling, murmuring and complaining even about the manna that God gave them. God judges grumbling. Your grumbling may not be vocal, it may be inside of you – your attitude. God has not denied you, all you need is to exercise some patience but your attitude becomes your nemesis. You start doubting the mercies of God, the grace of God. Every grumbler is a loser. God sent fiery serpents to bite them in the wilderness. Understand that the same God of mercy is also the God of truth. The truth side of God judges sin even up till this day, he cannot change according to Mal. 3:6, “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed”. God is immutable, he is the unchanging changer. Is there any seed of grumbling in your heart no matter how minute? It is a toxic attitude. A little wait does not mean denial; God does not disappoint. The period of waiting is to consolidate your character, your attitude matters a lot. A journey that ordinarily would have taken about eleven days ended up taking forty years. None of the original grumblers made it to the Promised Land. This should serve as a lesson for everyone. If you are looking for reasons to complain, you will find a thousand but if you are looking for what to thank God for, you will discover millions of reasons. Run away from people who grumble because grumblers produce grumblers, don’t be part of the congregation of grumblers. May you not be found in the congregation of grumblers in the mighty name of Jesus. God is looking for worshippers. One of the ways to beat the enemy hands down is to be a worshipper. If you belittle the mercies of God in your life, you will not see increase in it. How do you destroy the toxic attitude of ingratitude? Through thanksgiving. Become thankful. Don’t run into the wilderness, tankless. Don’t run with an empty tank and expect to make it to the Promised Land that is so far away. The oil you need for the journey is thanksgiving. The fact that you sleep and wake up is because God fought visible and invisible battles for you in your environment. The enormity of environmental witchcraft in Africa is alarming. If one snake in the garden brought so much hardship to the world, you can imagine what pythons are doing in the wilderness.
Pray –
- Lord, in any way that I have ever complained, in any way that I have ever murmured or grumbled, in any way, Lord, that I have exhibited this terrible toxic attitude, today, I say, I am sorry, please forgive me and help me to focus on your goodness, your mercy, your love and your kindness.
- You have been good to me, Lord, you have been faithful, I declare and celebrate your faithfulness. I celebrate your love and your kindness and declare that you have been wonderful keeping me alive, healthy, seeing me through difficult seasons, fighting visible and invisible battles for me and giving me resounding victories over the forces that weigh me down, the forces that bind, hinder, fetter, and do not want me to be all you want me to be in the name of Jesus.
- Lord, I give you praise; I celebrate your mercy and declare that you are wonderfully good. You are awesome. May your name be magnified. May your name be hallowed. May your name be glorified. Thank you most holy God, in Jesus mighty name I pray.
- Lord, make it impossible for me to be a partaker of the judgment that is meant for the unrighteous in the mighty name of Jesus. I ask you to do this and take all the glory. I love you with all my heart. I depend on you to make it to the Promised Land, in Jesus name. Amen.
TO BE CONTINUED………