Feb
19
2013

Grumble Or Praise?

Posted in Daily Living | 2 Comments

Anyone with young children in their lives has probably spent time reading to them.
If you have young children, you have probably read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.
A small boy gives a mouse a cookie and the mouse wants a glass of milk to go with it.
When you give him a glass of milk, he’ll probably ask you for a straw…
This circular tale takes you from one thing to another and brings you back again.
It is a wonderful little story.

It was an If You Give A Mouse A Cookie day in my house.

My youngest daughter and I had an entire day planned.
She had off from school for President’s day.
I got up early and came downstairs.

I know the way my house sounds.
I know every creak of the floor boards.
I heard a sound that was just not right.
It was coming from the basement.

I opened the door and ran downstairs.
Water was spraying in the unfinished part of our basement.
I ran upstairs to call my husband who had just left for his walk.
I yelled out the front door and he ran back.

He turned the circuit breakers off to our well pump and our heater.
Since we have geothermal heat, water is needed to flow through the pipes.
Everything was off the floor…on shelves…but still a bit wet.

On the weekend my husband needed to replace a pressure switch on our pump.
My handy, engineer husband does our home repairs himself.
One tiny elbow joint was stressed when the new switch was installed.
It developed a hairline crack which caused the spray of water…three days later.

We worked all afternoon…using this situation as an opportunity.
We cleaned up the water, moved things, vacuumed under things, got rid of some things.
When the heater was turned back on, because of the interruption of water, a valve failed.
That repair does require a service man…who is coming tomorrow.

Fix the pressure switch…hairline crack in elbow of pipe…water spray…turn off heater and pump…turn both back on hours later…heater valve failed.

One of those days.
Grumble…or praise?

They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, ” Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord answered Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock of Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink. So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. (Exodus 17:1-6)

The Israelites grumbled about not having any water.
God told Moses to hit the rock and water would come out for the people to drink.
God provided water in the desert.

They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
(1 Corinthians 10:3,4)

Unfortunately, the Israelites didn’t learn.
As they traveled in the wilderness for forty years, they grumbled.

Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink…
The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother, Aaron, gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community, so they and their livestock can drink...
“Listen you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.  But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them. (Numbers 20:4,5,7,8,10-12)

Moses disobeyed God.
Moses struck the rock…twice…when he was told to speak to the rock for the water to flow.
Moses never went inside the Promised Land.
He only saw it from the top of Mt. Nebo.

The people grumbled…God heard and graciously responded.
They never praised Him, however.
Grumbling became a way of life.

My husband and I were too busy to grumble this morning.
This was not the way we planned our day.
As I thought about it later…all I could do was praise HIM.

We caught the leak in time…before too much water sprayed all over our basement.
No one was hurt…nothing was lost…we worked on this together.

Grumble or praise?
A choice we have to make every day!
Only one way truly honors Him!

 

Whispers of His Movement and Whispers in Verse books are now available in paperback and e-book!

http://www.whispersofhismovement.com/book/

2 responses to “Grumble Or Praise?”

  1. We should not grumble… regardless of what happens to us. But I am not sure when the second period of 40 years occurred. Moses and the Israelites were only in the desert for 40… Maybe it was ‘for 2 periods IN 40 years… they grumbled’? I enjoy your posts, keep it up!

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