I was bemoaning the fact that I could no longer afford something that made my life easier when a thought popped into my head: “Isn’t that a wandering-in-the-desert whine?”
I stopped to ponder what exactly it was that I was grumbling about. Was it a life-threatening chariots-bearing-down-on-me type of thing… or more like the petulant complaint of the Israelites after God saved them from Pharaoh, “Why did you bring us up out of Eqypt to make us and our children and our livestock die of thirst?” (Exodus 17:3). I was chagrined to realize it was the latter.
To be honest, most of the problems I face are merely annoyances. It’s a blessing (though I don’t often think of it that way) that I’ve also had to deal with catastrophic news, because now I’ve learned the difference between a true crisis and inconvenience. Being aware of that difference gives me a choice: Do I opt to perceive an inconvenience as the thing that will drive me over the edge… or do I look at it as something is irritating but inconsequential?
I think God probably prefers it when I view annoyances and inconveniences for what they are: neither life- nor soul-threatening. In truth, there is no danger inherent in inconveniences until I indulge myself in believing they are as big a deal as the Tempter wants me to believe they are.
It’s a question worth pondering when one is feeling grumpy and out of sorts: Is this a wandering-in-the-desert complaint? And if so, how else can I look at it?
