Grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ who is faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to him. Amen.

For all Your mercies, mercies beyond number and measure, for all of which it is our joy to stand before You and give You thanks, we give You thanks, O Lord and and bless Your holy name. You are indeed blessed and holy and worthy of all honor and praise, O Father Almighty, O only-begotten Son, O Spirit of Holiness. To You alone do we give all glory now and ever and unto the ages of ages! Amen!

A grandmother took her little grandson to the beach. They were having a good time until a huge wave came in and swept the boy out to sea. She fell down on her knees and pleaded to the heavens, "Please return my grandson, -- that's all I ask! Please!!!" A moment later, lo and behold, a wave swelled from the ocean and deposited the wet, yet unhurt child, at her feet. She checked him over to make sure that he was okay. He was fine. But still she looked up to the heavens and said angrily, "When we came he had a hat!"

That sounds silly, doesn’t it? The grandmother should have been thankful and grateful. Instead she started grumbling about a silly old hat. But how many times are we like that? How often do we act ungrateful to our Lord? Maybe we complain because we call ourselves "middle class," even though we are really quite well off. We find ourselves being bombarded by all the activities our children are involved in rather than being grateful that our kids are so energetic. We gripe when the teacher gives us homework or a quiz, even though they are testing us for our own benefit. The list could go on and on. We grumble, grumble, grumble. We are envious. We aren’t satisfied. We aren’t content. We aren’t happy.

In order to help us curb our grumbling and encourage a life of thankfulness, we look to God’s Word. This morning in our sermon text we look at another nation for help – the nation of Israel – to learn some lessons from their history. As we find the Israelites, they are grumbling on the way to the Promised Land. They are grumbling as though God had not done enough for them in the past, grumbling as though God could not help them at the present, and grumbling as though God were not leading them to the Promised Land.

It is amazing to see how quickly the children of Israel turned into a bunch of grumblers. They had not even escaped from Egypt when they started grumbling. They see the Pharaoh and his army pursuing them with chariots and horses, and they accuse Moses of leading them on a death march. Their grumbling proved to be ill-founded because God told Moses to stretch his rod over the Red Sea, the waters parted, and they escaped without even getting their toes wet. They traveled a few days into the wilderness and found something else to grumble about. The water was a little scarce, and it had a bitter taste to it. So they grumbled. They grumbled until God turned the bitter waters sweet. They move on a bit, and they find something else to grumble about. This time the food supply was running short. The grumbling starts up again. They told Moses, "We'd rather be back in Egypt. At least slaves get food."

In spite of the grumbling, God starts sending manna in the morning and quail in the evening. That is like having free kringle in the morning and Kentucky Fried Chicken in the evening. There was no charge for these catered meals, and they continued for 40 years. A few days later we find the people of Israel at the time of our text. They are grumbling again. The water supply was running low, and they complained about it. You would think that the children of Israel would have sat down and had a Thanksgiving Day feast right our there in the desert to thank God for all he had done for them. Instead of praising God for his generous blessings they grumbled because God was not supplying them with buckets of water to wash down the manna and quail.

Are we any better than the children of Israel? We get sick one month and need some surgery, and we complain, too. Instead of grumbling about poor health, why don’t we thank God for the 34 years that went by when we never even saw a doctor? One month we have a bunch of unexpected bills – the house gets hit by hail, the transmission goes on the car, and a couple bills get paid late. So we grumble about how tough it is to make ends meet. Why don’t we rather thank God for the stack of bills that were paid on time -- many of them for things we didn't really need? One year the company has to cut back on overtime hours, the paycheck is smaller, and the Christmas bonus turns out to be a canned ham, and we grumble about the job and the boss and the economy. Why don’t we thank God for the fact that we even have a job and the health to go to work?

It was Thanksgiving in the nursing home. The small resident population was gathered about their humble Thanksgiving table, and the director asked each in turn to express one thing for which they were thankful. Thanks were expressed for a home in which to stay, families, etc. One little old lady in her turn said, "I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw that match, so that I can chew my food." If we have more than two teeth, we probably have no cause for grumbling. Just think of how ungrateful it must appear to God when his people grumble as though he had not done enough for them in the past.

As the children of Israel sit and grumble, they are grumbling as though God could not help them in the present. You would think that sooner or later the Israelites would get it through their thick heads that God could and would take care of them. So far they have seen the Lord lead them through a miraculous escape from the Pharaoh. He had turned bitter water sweet. Manna continued to come in the morning and a daily supply of quail kept coming at night. But they still sit and grumble as though God could not help them at the present. How long is it going to take them to learn to trust God and turn to him for help instead of grumbling and turning away from Him?

Once again God demonstrates his kindness and power. Moses strikes the rock; the water flows; the people's thirst is quenched; God has passed the test; the crisis is over. How foolish the grumbling turned out to be!

Matthew Henry, a famous Bible scholar, was once threatened by thieves and robbed of his purse. He wrote these words in his diary: "Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, and not someone else." Notice what Matthew Henry did – instead of concentrating on his difficulties or his hurts, he concentrated on the blessings which were there, even in a difficult situation. Do we do the same? Give thanks and praise for the blessings you do have. Give thanks to God that he is helping us right now in the present.

There is a third point we should consider. The children of Israel were grumbling as though God were not leading them to the Promised Land. It almost seems petty of the children of Israel to be grumbling about a little lack of water. Had they forgotten where they were going? Had the Lord not told them that he was leading them to the Promised Land? What difference does it make if there are a few inconveniences along the way when their destination is the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey? The people of Israel seem to have lost their sense of direction and so they grumbled.

They also seemed to have lost their spiritual perspective. Not only had they forgotten where God was leading them to on earth, they also seemed to have forgotten that the Lord was also leading them to the heavenly Canaan, the real Promised Land. God had placed all sorts of Gospel pictures before them, and it doesn't seem as though the Gospel is getting through. Had they forgotten that the Passover Lamb was really a picture of Christ, the Lamb of God? Did they not see the picture of forgiveness in the scapegoat as the high priest put the sins of the people on it and chased it into the wilderness? Did they not see the blood of Christ as the High Priest took the blood of the lamb into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on the Ark of the Covenant? Didn't they see the picture of the blood of Christ cleansing them from their sins? Couldn't they connect the bronze serpent that Moses raised on a pole in the wilderness with Christ being raised on the cross? If they had only focused on these beautiful Gospel pictures, they would not have been so distracted by things of this life and rather praised God for his love in forgiving their sins and leading them to the Promised Land above.

We can fall into the same trap. We can get all bogged down in the concerns of life. We need to change our spiritual perspective. Instead of worrying about our health, let’s thank God that Jesus has the power to heal diseases, cure the blind, and make the lame walk. Instead of being concerned about money for retirement or saving for college tuition, let’s thank God that we have the treasures stored up in heaven – we have the treasures of our sins washed away in our baptismal waters, the treasures of Christ’s body and blood for forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper, and the treasures of everlasting love and peace from God. Instead of being envious about the new clothing that Joe or Susie is wearing, let’s thank God that through Jesus we will be given a new set of clothes when we enter heaven – the crown of righteousness and the white robe of perfection. Instead of being depressed when someone gets sick and dies, let us thank God that through Jesus Christ we have the assurance of seeing our loved ones again in the Promised Land of Heaven.

Here is a little exercise you can try the next time you feel like grumbling. Rather than grumbling, instead give thanks to God. Rather than grumbling about the mess in your house, tell God "I am thankful for the mess to clean after a part because it means I have been surrounded by friends." Rather than grumbling about taxes say, "Thank you God for the taxes I pay because it means that I’m employed." Rather than grumbling about a few unwanted pounds say, "Thank you God for the clothes that fit a little snug because it means I have enough to eat." Rather than grumbling at doing household chores say, "Thank you God for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home." Rather than grumbling about the heating bill say, "Thank you God for the huge heating bill because it means I am warm. " Say "Thank you God for the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking." "Thank you God for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved one are nearby." "Thank you God for the alarm that goes off in the early morning because it means that I am alive."

The Apostle Paul had the right perspective when he said, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) If we are really headed toward the Promised Land, what does it matter if we have to face sufferings and problems for a while before we get there? Is this the Promised Land, or are we heading for the Promised Land?

The Lord’s love surrounds you. He is leading you on the way to the Promised Land – the Promised Land of heaven. While God has been leading you to the Promised Land, he has taken care of you in the past. He is watching over you right now in the present. And he promises to bless you in the future. God has given you salvation gifts that are worth immeasurably more than any of the earthly things you covet. So stop your grumbling. Life will be much better and happier when you approach it with a thankful attitude.

Instead of grumbling, give thanks to God. Let each day begin with gratitude, not a groan. Amen.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)