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Scripture:
Deuteronomy 1:27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.”
Observation:
Notice in this verse how the Israelites were grumbling and murmuring in their tents. This is the equivalent of our homes today. They murmured and grumbled in their tents because this is where their true thoughts and opinions came out of their mouth. We read in Scripture that the Israelites often praised God for a tangible miracle, but would soon after gossip and complain about being stuck in the desert. Why did they slip back to murmuring so easily after witnessing miracle after miracle? Because their old habits had not been broken nor their hearts truly surrendered to God.
Application:
The Bible tells us to not be conformed by this world (or current situation) but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). Old habits like gossiping and grumbling can only be broken by having the mind of Christ. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45), so the grumbling from the Israelites against God was coming from deeper than just their mouths, it was coming from their hearts. We want God to take our hearts of stone and give us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26) that beats for Him and is sensitive to Him. No matter what our situation is, whether we are in the valley or on a mountaintop, we trust, love, and follow God with all our heart mind, and soul.
As a result of the Israelite’s unwillingness to change and fully surrender their lives and hearts to God, this generation did not see the fullness that God had planned for them. They did not see or experience the Promised Land. It might seem harsh to not experience all of God’s goodness in our lives because of our talking habits, but God is serious about having His people fully surrender to Him. What comes out of our mouths is indicative of what’s in our hearts and evidence of our faith.
Prayer:
Father, You are holy. I love You. Thank You for today. I recognize the great damage I can cause to myself, and to others, with my words. Help me, Holy Spirit, to speak words of life and not death. Create in me a clean heart oh God, cleanse me and purify me that even my most inner thoughts would bring you glory. I thank You for Your revelation and for wanting to partner with me to do great things in this generation. Help me to see what You see, to love what You love and hate what You hate, so that You may be glorified in me, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Worship:
(Edited by Trevor Kring)