What are you complaining about
Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. ~ Numbers 11:1
Happy New Year everyone! I pray 2026 will be your best year yet! Full of breakthroughs and victories like never before! I believe whatever comes your way this year will be a stepping stone into a greater relation with your heavenly Father and a deeper understanding of the purpose He designed for your life! I hope today’s Daily Dose message will inspire you to remove the bitter root of complaining from your life and inspire you to intentionally let His joy flow through you to all the world around you.
Today’s scripture reading opens with a sobering picture of God’s people growing restless. Even after experiencing God’s deliverance, provision, and guidance, they allowed dissatisfaction to take root. What begins as complaint quickly turns into craving, and craving begins to cloud their trust in God. This chapter asks a hard but necessary question, what happens when desire speaks louder than gratitude in your life? This message is especially relevant today, when comparison, impatience, and unmet expectations constantly compete for your attention as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only that, but it is actually the popular way to be dissatisfied and outraged with the way things are today’s world.
Below are three points to consider to restore your joy:
1. Complaining reveals where trust has weakened
The people had manna every day, yet they focused on what they lacked instead of what God provided. Complaining did not change their circumstances, but it did change their hearts toward God.
Notice what comes out of your mouth when life feels uncomfortable. Instead of rehearsing what is missing, choose to thank God for what He is already supplying. Start each day by naming one specific provision you can see right now, even if it feels small. Thankfulness restores trust when discouragement tries to take over.
2. Cravings can distract you from God’s purpose
Israel longed for what they left behind in Egypt, forgetting that those memories were tied to bondage. Their desire for something different caused them to lose sight of why God had brought them out of slavery.
Pay attention to what you are longing for. Ask God if that desire is drawing you closer to Him or pulling you away. When you feel tempted to chase comfort, success, or approval outside of His will, pause and invite Him to reshape your desires so they match His purpose for your life right now.
3. God meets you with grace even when you are overwhelmed
Moses reached a breaking point in this chapter, openly admitting he could not carry the burden alone. God responded by sharing the load and providing help through others.
Admit when you are overwhelmed instead of pretending you can handle everything. Ask God for support and be willing to receive help through community, prayer, and wise counsel. Humbly receive that help and don’t poison the atmosphere by allowing complaining into that environment. Strength often comes when you stop carrying things alone and allow God to provide support in His way.
I used to complain a lot, and I found myself surrounded by others who did the same. I complained about my job, how hard it was, and how unappreciated I was. I complained about my bosses, what they didn’t know, what they did know, and everything in between. I complained about the weather, the traffic, and the people around me. I even complained about why things were the way they were and how difficult my life seemed. Honestly, I complained about nearly everything. I thought it helped me cope, but the truth was that I was deeply unhappy. One day I realized I had a choice, I could continue talking about my circumstances as if I had no control, or I could talk to the Lord and ask Him to lead me, give me wisdom and the strength to walk in peace while holding my peace.
I don’t even know if anyone noticed when I decided to stop grumbling. By that point, I had probably pushed people away with my rotten attitude. What truly changed was what the Holy Spirit revealed to me. Complaining was not harmless, it was a direct expression of my lack of trust in God. It showed that I believed I could handle life better than He could. That realization deeply humbled me. I am so thankful for His love and kindness in opening my eyes. Now, when things are not going “my way” I turn them over to Him. I cannot control my circumstances, but I can control my response. When I place things in my Father’s hands and follow His direction, He leads me to victory every time.
Over time, I had to face the truth that I was criticizing, complaining, and condemning far more than I realized. Even when I prayed for change, the moment things became uncomfortable, my focus shifted to what was hard instead of what God was doing. I remember feeling emotionally exhausted and asking Him why nothing seemed to move faster. That was when He gently showed me that my constant dissatisfaction was draining my joy. When I began thanking Him daily for even the smallest signs of His faithfulness, my attitude shifted. The circumstances did not change overnight, but my peace returned, and my trust in Him grew stronger. He taught me to depend on Him rather than my own expectations, and that changed everything.
Today I want to encourage you to guard your heart when disappointment tries to turn into complaining. Trust that God knows what you need even when your desires feel loud. Invite Him to shape your cravings, strengthen your gratitude, and provide support where you feel overwhelmed. He is patient with your process and faithful to lead you to your victory when you choose trust over dissatisfaction. Most of all, your faith will increase, your joy will return and you will discover that He can take care of your life’s circumstances far better than you can.
Today’s scripture reading: Numbers 11
1 Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.
2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched.
3 So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.
4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat?
5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”
7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium.
8 The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.
9 And when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.
10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased.
11 So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me?
12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers?
13 Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’
14 I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.
15 If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness!”
16 So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you.
17 Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.
18 Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.
19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,
20 but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”
21 And Moses said, “The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’
22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?”
23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle.
25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.
26 But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp.
27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!”
29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”
30 And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
31 Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground.
32 And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.
33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.
34 So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth and camped at Hazeroth.
Journal:
- What am I most tempted to complain about right now
- What desire has been competing with my trust in God
- Where do I need to ask God for help instead of carrying the weight alone
The Daily Dose 