“WOEFUL LYRICS OF COMPLAINT”

Daddy Mike

DRAMA MINISTERS "YEAR OF GREAT THINGS"
DRAMA MINISTERS' 40 DAYS PRAYERS AND FASTING - DAY 15
(January 1 - February 9, 2015)

“WOEFUL LYRICS OF COMPLAINT”
EXODUS 15:1-4
1.Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
2 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
3 The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.
4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

From Verses 1-21 of Exodus 15, we read a long wonderful and insightful lyrics of Songs of Praise and worship to the Lord God who had just drown the whole merciless army of Egypt in the Red Sea. Their greatest obstacles had just been removed from the way. Israel was now truly free indeed. Not only had they crossed the Red Sea, the enemies pursuing them had all now been thrown into the sea and they were now free completely.

So, they burst into songs of Worship and Praise to the Lord. It was a great celebration.
Immediately after this long celebration, they began their journey into the wilderness and they journeyed for three days without water for them to drink. Then, they came to a place called Marah and found water. They rushed down the river to drink, but alas! The water was bitter. Then, they shouted disappointedly:

EXODUS 15:24
“And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

Moses cried unto God, and there was an intervention of God when Moses cast a tree into the water and the waters became sweet. Trust Israel. They shouted for joy again and as usual, they would sing songs of Praise and Worship again. They continued the journey again till the Lord brought them to Elim where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees. It was like a cool resort place in the desert. The Lord made them camp there by the well and palm trees.

They proceeded in their journey again till there was no food for them to eat and they all became hungry. Probably, all their food reserves were exhausted in the journey that had now lasted about one and half month.

Trust Israel, they began singing again, but this time around, as usual: Songs of Complaint. The Woeful Lyrics went thus in Exodus 16:3,

“…Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt,
when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full!
For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this
whole assembly with hunger."

Then, the Lord said to them:

EXODUS 16:12
"I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

So in the evening of that same day He sent quails into their camp for them to kill and roast. The birds covered the whole camp, and they made a harvest of quails. Some boiled the birds, others grilled it and some preferred the birds roasted. They demanded for meat, and God gave them. And then, early in the next morning, Manna rained down from heaven, and that became their stable food. Manna. Daily bread from heaven.

They set out from that spot, continued their journey and became thirsty again. Not hungry anymore, Manna now came every morning. But they had no water to drink again.

EXODUS 17:3-4
3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, "Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!"

Then, Lord spoke to Moses to go to a rock nearby on which He would stand. He instructed him to strike the rock and water would come out for the people to drink. Moses did so and there was a spring of rushing cold water from inside the rock again. Trust Israel. They would give Him praise again.

The children of Israel went on and on in this attitude of grumbling and complaints upon complaints, and God kept on enduring this ignoble attitude. Then, in Number 13, He sent their leaders to go and spy the land, so that they could have assurance of the beauty and genuineness of the land He was taking them to. The spies came back and complained that there were giants on the land God was taking them to.

NUMBER 14:2-3
2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!
3 "Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"

This was where they blew up their chances of getting to Canaan Land. All they could offer God was complaint upon complaint. Then, God was fed up with these burdensome complaining people. They did not continually give Him the praise He deserved. Then, God became angry at them and declared His verdict on them:

NUMBERS 14:21-23
21 "but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD-
22 "because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,
23 "they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.

That was the VERDICT that prolonged their journey and made them waste away their lives in the wilderness. They would journey without getting to their destinations. They would labor without results. They would plant without harvesting. They would sow without reaping. Because they had seen the glory of God and had taken Him for granted. They had seen astounding wonders of God and without appreciating Him. They had seen their previous prayers answered. They did not give Him the Praises due His name. They dishonored Him with their incessant complaints and grumbling. They were always only complaining about their needs, not giving Praises for the good things the Lord has done for them.

PSALMS 106:24-26
24 Then they despised the pleasant land; They did not believe His word,
25 But complained in their tents, And did not heed the voice of the LORD.
26 Therefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them, To overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 To overthrow their descendants among the nations, And to scatter them in the lands.

Has this been the pictures of your life? Has this been your regular lifestyles? A life full of consistent complaint before the Lord. A life that centers on present pressing needs without considering the other wondrous deeds of God in your life. He gave you a good job, loving and understanding spouse, peaceful relatives and family. He gave you good health and delivered you from the grip of the devil and rescued you from death. He is so good to you, but you constant blackmail Him for not yet giving you a child or your long due promotions.

Some children of God blackmail God for not giving them a job, they complain before him and are embittered in their heart, forgetting His goodness for answering their prayers in giving them good husband or wife. Some are in contention with God because they have not yet secured the visa they have been looking for. While many other have abandoned their ministerial duty-posts in anger and dejection because God has not given them the man or woman to marry.

Ministerial journeys are full of provisions and lacks, ups and downs, mountains and valleys. The Lord exposed Israelites to serious thirsts and hunger in the wilderness and then gave them only one particular meal for years to test their hearts if they would obey His voice or not. You must learn to always give Him the praises for what He has done and what He is yet to do.

NUMBER 14:22-23
22 "because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,
23 "they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.

It is frightening to know that God was keeping record of all their complaints. He counted that they had complained in his ears ten times. And He gave a verdict against them. He allowed them to labor and journey without reaching destinations or coming to their harvests.

We are praying and fasting to experience Great Things which He has promised to give us this year. However, watch out! Don’t let your pressing needs make God cancel your glorious destinations. HE HATES GRUMBLING AND COMPLAINTS. HE LOVES TO BE PRAISED

Remain blessed again. 

MIKE BAMILOYE