Cultivating a Contented Heart, Part 2

Series: Cultivating a Contented Heart

Leslie Basham: Unfortunately, some of us need to learn contentment the hard way. This is Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss for Tuesday, May 21.

Sometimes God will go to great lengths to teach us what we need to learn. Whether He guides us through a wicked storm or a barren wasteland, the path He leads us down is always meant to show us more about Himself. Today, Nancy will tell us about some travel weary Israelites who learned a valuable lesson about contentment.

Nancy DeMoss: We're looking together at this issue of discontentment and the sin of murmuring and complaining. We've seen in the New Testament that Paul tells us that the things that happened to the Children of Israel in the Old Testament when they murmured and complained were given to us as examples--and to warn us so that we would not fall into those same sins. Today, I want us to go on a journey with the Children of Israel. Over these next couple of sessions, we'll be looking at several instances where the Children of Israel faced a problem, a difficulty, a challenge--and we'll see how they responded to that problem. We'll also see how God responded to their response to the problem.

We go back into the Book of Exodus. We read in Exodus 13, the whole instance where God delivered the Children of Israel. By His great power, He redeemed them; He brought them out of Egypt. He led them into a desert, and then we know that God led the Children of Israel to the Red Sea. You remember that with the Red Sea in front of them, mountain ranges on either side and the Egyptian army breathing down their necks behind them, the Children of Israel found themselves--now in Exodus 14--in a place where they were hopelessly hemmed in.

There was no way out--except if God intervened on their behalf. We read in Exodus 14:11 that the Children of Israel said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

Now if you know something about what precedes this chapter--Is it true that the Children of Israel said to Moses when they were in Egypt, "We want to stay in Egypt"? No! For years they had cried out in their bondage to be delivered. God had heard their cries and had delivered them. But now, when they're faced with this first challenge after they come out of Egypt--instead of crying out to the Lord who had delivered them and asking the Lord now to deliver them again--they begin to murmur and whine and grumble against Moses, who was God's representative: "It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert."

What was God's response to the murmuring and the whining of the Children of Israel? Verse 30 tells us, "That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore." The part we just skipped over is the part that you're familiar with--how God opened up a way through the Red Sea so that the Children of Israel walked through on dry land. Then, as the Egyptian army followed in after them, the waters came down; and the Egyptian army drowned.

God performed a miracle. They were in this hopeless, impossible situation. There was no way out. They doubted God; they grumbled against God's servant. But God nonetheless performed a miracle and opened up a way through the Red Sea.

Now we come to the next chapter, Exodus 15. We find that after the Red Sea crossing, they've gone three days into the wilderness. They've had this great celebration that took place after they got through the Red Sea. They're praising God, as it's easy to do when we've just experienced God's power and His deliverance.

They've gone three days into the wilderness, and they come to a place where there's no water. That's a pretty serious situation to be in for one million adults plus children--to have nothing to drink. Obviously, they can't go long in that situation. When they do come to water, it's a place they named Mara--which means "bitter," because the water is contaminated. It's bitter water that they can't drink.

What is their response? What do you think would be their response after having just seen God defeat the whole Egyptian army and take them through the Red Sea? You'd think they'd say, "O Lord, You've done it before; You can do it again!" But no, that's not the response, as it often is not the response with us. Exodus 15:24 tells us, "The people murmured against Moses saying, 'What shall we drink?'" They turn to Moses and they say, "You got us into this mess; you got to get us out of this mess."

Then verse 25 tells us that Moses cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree. He threw it into the water and the water became sweet. He hears their whining. He hears their murmuring and in response, God does a miracle. He sweetened the bitter waters. Right after that, He leads them to a place that's an oasis--Elim, the place where there are 12 wells of water.

The wells of water, the oasis, was just ahead. God had the provision in mind; He knew how He was going to meet their needs. Rather than trust Him, they whined, they grumbled, they murmured. God, out His mercy and grace, performed a miracle to meet them at their point of need. We think, Surely they've learned their lesson now.

Next chapter, Exodus 16--this is all within two months of leaving Egypt. Within two months of leaving Egypt, they have all these experiences of coming up against obstacles; and we see their response each time.

Now they come to a place called the Wilderness of Sin. In this wilderness they come to the experience of having no food. First they'd had no water, now they have no food. Verse 2 tells us the whole congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron. "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."

Our emotions sometimes make us irrational. They make us believe and think and say things that really aren't true, that we know aren't true. First of all, they had no desire to die in Egypt. They did have food to eat in Egypt, but they were the slaves of the one who provided that food. Second, they accused Moses of having brought them out into this desert with the intent of starving them to death. You see, unbelief and murmuring and discontent make us believe things that just aren't true, and make us falsely accuse God and God's servants when we run into these circumstances.

The Scripture says in Exodus 16:7-8 that their murmurings were against Him. They thought they were murmuring against Moses and against Aaron, but God says, "Truly your murmuring is against Me." What did God do this time in response to their murmuring? The Scripture goes on to tell us that God rained down manna and quail. He performed another miracle. They murmur; God does a miracle to meet their needs. He says in verse 12, "At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God."

Once again God took this opportunity of their need to reveal His power, His love, His goodness and His greatness. God's purpose was that He wanted the Children of Israel get to know Him. They'd lived all these years in Egypt without really knowing God; and God was bringing these tests about in their lives--as He does in ours--because He wants us to see what He can do when we have no other resources available.

Next chapter, Exodus 17--we've been in chapter 14, chapter 15, chapter 16 and now we come to the next chapter. You think, Surely they've learned now. They've seen so much of the goodness and the power of God! Now they come to a place that became known as Rephidim, where once again there was no water. You would think that this time they would say, "O God, You provided water before; You made those bitter waters sweet. You took us to that oasis. So this time, we're going to trust You. Lord, just show us what you have for us. Would You supply the water we need?"

You'd think that's how they'd respond, right? Not this time! Once again, in verses 2 and 3, it says they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." You can just hear the demand in their voice. "Moses replied, 'Why do you put the Lord to the test?' But the people were thirsty for water there, and they murmured against Moses. They said, 'Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?'"

This is sounding like a broken record. How does God respond to their murmuring in each of these four instances--when they were at the Red Sea, when they came to the bitter water, when they had no food, when they had no water? Each time they murmured, they grumbled, they whined--and what did God do? He performed a miracle. These miracles were signs of God's mercy and His grace.

Isn't that how God often does it with us? We come up into a difficult situation. We're discontented with what we have. We want something we don't have. Over and over again, as you look back in your life, can you see times when God came and met with you anyway? When He provided your need--not because we were thankful, not because we expressed faith--we were immature and childish and demanding and we said, "God, meet my needs now." In some cases, we can all look back and see God had mercy on us.

In the next session, we're going to see that God didn't always respond with miracles. He wanted His children to grow up and to learn how to respond in belief; but in these early stages of their experience with God, He wanted them to see His grace, to see His power and to get to know Him.

Leslie Basham: That's Nancy DeMoss asking us to remember how much God has blessed us each time we feel the urge to complain. Nancy will be right back to close in prayer.

One way to learn contentment is by following the examples others have set for us in this area. Jeremiah Burroughs, a pastor in the 1600s wrote a valuable book on contentment that has long been considered a classic. Burroughs' book, titled The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, was written to encourage contentment in the hearts of individual believers going through difficult times. We have copies of this book available in our resource center for a suggested donation of $9. You can order by visiting our Web site, ReviveOurHearts.com or call 1-800-569-5959.

When you contact us, would you consider making a financial gift to this ministry? If you appreciate the biblical insight you receive, why don't you help make sure we're able to continue in your area? Just send your donations to Revive Our Hearts.

How does God react to our complaining? We'll find out on tomorrow's broadcast. We hope you'll be back then. But now, let's listen to Nancy as she closes us in prayer.

Nancy DeMoss: Father, how we thank You that You deal with us in mercy--that You don't give us what we deserve. So many times when we murmur, when we're unbelieving, when we're doubting, when we falsely accuse You or Your servants--You come and You say, "I'm going to meet your need anyway. I'm going to supply for you; I'm going to do a miracle."

Lord, as we look back, we thank You for those times when You have demonstrated Your power and Your goodness and Your love and Your grace. We don't deserve it, Lord, but we are so very grateful; and we say, "Would You teach us to develop a thankful heart and to cultivate a contented heart with Your provision?" We pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.  

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss is a ministry partnership of Life Action Ministries.

Note: Special offers available only during the broadcast of the radio series.