Gratitude, Trust, and Faithfulness

The apostle Paul writes, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world…” (Phil. 2:14–15).

Some years ago, when teaching the weekly Torah portion, presumably touching on the subject of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, I added a people-group not included in this list, the “Murmurite.” To this day I am not sure where the thought originated, perhaps from my own experience and time spent in the camp of the “Murmurites.” 

When the children of Israel began to murmur in the wilderness, Moses responded, “Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord” (Ex. 16:8). What did he mean? 

A murmur‑ite is my name for that subtle, creeping spiritual parasite that feeds on dissatisfaction, whispers complaint, and drains joy. It thrives in the shadows of the heart, where disappointment, impatience, and fear mingle; and it disguises itself as harmless honesty. I know the signs and implications of murmuring, as at different seasons in life it was like a second fluent language. 

That being said, Scripture is clear: murmuring is not a minor flaw, it erodes faith and denies the efficacy of covenant, at least from our perspective. 

Israel did not lose battles because of giants; they lost ground because of murmuring. The wilderness did not defeat them, their tongues did; and unfortunately the power of the tongue yet remains (Jas. 3:1-10). 

A murmur is small, but it grows and multiplies quickly. It spreads through households, congregations, and communities. It turns worshipers into worriers, pilgrims into prisoners, and gratitude into grumbling.

Murmuring is not just complaining, it is misplaced and misdirected theology. How so? 

1. Murmuring questions God’s character: When Israel murmured about water, manna, or leadership, God heard something deeper than words: “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Ex.17:7). Murmuring is the heart’s way of saying, “I’m not sure God is good, present, or wise.”

2. Murmuring rewrites the past: Israel said, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt…” (Num. 11:5). Murmuring romanticizes bondage and distorts memory, causing us to look back to bondage in fondness, not forward in faith.

3. Murmuring blinds us to His provision: The people stood in front of daily miracles, manna, water from the rock, a cloud by day, fire by night, and still murmured. A “murmur‑ite” makes miracles look mundane.

4. Murmuring spreads spiritual infection: Ten spies murmured, and an entire nation lost faith and suffered judgment. Murmuring is contagious; while gratitude is curative.

The Lord never commands us to stop something without giving us something better to set our hearts and minds to: 

1. Practice covenantal gratitude: Not generic positivity or contrived optimism, but covenant remembrance. Recall what the Lord has done, not what He has yet to do. 

2. Speak faith aloud: The apostle Paul says, “holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (Phil. 2:16). Faith grows when spoken, when lived and depended on; murmuring grows when whispered, or spoken in the shadowy places of the heart. 

3. Rehearse God’s character: When the heart is tempted to murmur, declare: the Lord is faithful, He is present, He is wise, He is working.

4. Replace murmuring with intercession: If something burdens you, fast and pray it instead of murmuring it. Intercession turns complaint into communion with the fullness of the Godhead and the faithful.

Dear faithful, a murmur, and therefore a Murmurite, cannot survive in an atmosphere of gratitude and thanksgiving. It suffocates when the heart remembers who the Lord is. The murmur dies when the tongue chooses praise over complaint. Murmurs wither when faith speaks louder than fear.

Let the wilderness, we all spend time there, hear your praise, worship and adoration, not your murmuring. Ask yourself questions about your own times of dissatisfaction or trial, and the response in it: Where have I allowed murmuring to replace faith? What miracle(s) have I stopped noticing? Who might be affected by the tone of my heart? What can I thank the Lord for right now?

There is no more sobering and convicting reminder than our Lord Yeshua/Jesus on the cross. Bearing our sin and shame, He did not murmur or complain, gossip or threaten, but submitted Himself to the will of the Father, and asked His forgiveness because, as so often the case, “they know not what they do.” 

A prayer: Father of mercies, reveal the murmurite hiding in the corners of my heart. Cleanse me from the parasite of complaint. Teach me to trust Your timing, Your wisdom, and Your goodness. Fill my mouth with gratitude, my mind with remembrance, and my spirit with the joy of Your salvation. Make me a child who shines Your light without murmuring, a city on a hill shining that others may see Your faithfulness working in me. In Yeshua’s name, Amen.

Maranatha. Shalom.