A History

Excerpt from Kevin DeYoung Grumblers in the Refining Fire

You have wearied the Lord with your words. (Malachi 2:17)

God’s people have a history of grumbling. Things were no different in Malachi’s day. In this fourth argument, the people voiced two main grumbles against God. “First, Lord, you’re treating the bad guys like the good guys. Second, you’re sitting in heaven doing nothing when you should come and judge the wicked.” They wanted the God of the ten plagues and Mt. Carmel to zap their enemies. It’s not that they were consumed with zeal for the Lord’s glory. They just wanted their problems to go away. So they grumbled.

We are grumblers too. We’re too busy, too bored, we don’t have enough money, we’re not appreciated, we don’t like our church, our sports teams stink, we don’t look good, don’t feel good, we’re too skinny, too fat, too short, too tall, our clothes are worn out, our car’s a lemon, we’re single and we wish were married, we’re married and we wish we had kids, we have kids and we wish we could be single again. We moan and murmur like a whiney two year old.

But God calls us to patience and longsuffering. And he calls us to confidence too. When we are assured that God is working all things according to his good purpose, we are freed to “do everything without grumbling or complaining” (Philippians 2:14).

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