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2. WHEN THE WAY GETS TOUGH AND DISCOURAGING, PRAY!  Like the Israelites, we complain whenever we go through trials and troubles. We don’t like sufferings and pain. And when the troubles linger and bad news continue to pour in, we get discouraged, depressed, and we give up on God and life.

Brethren, when life gets tough you need to pray instead of complain. Pray about what? For one thing, you can pray and ask God to help you not complain. To help you be thankful. To help you see the good in everything that’s bad around you. To help you see things from a different perspective. From God’s own perspective.

3. GET A FRESH PERSPECTIVE OF THE WAY. When the way gets tough and discouraging, the answer, my friends, is to get a fresh perspective of the Christian life. You see, one reason why people get discouraged when life becomes one big trial and frustration is because they have mistaken notions of the way.

This was the problem that many of the Israelites had. Many of them wanted the desert journey to be trial-and-trouble-free: “Moses, we just came out of one big trial in Egypt. Please, no more trials!”  And while the people longed for the promised land of peace and plenty, I think many of them forgot that it wasn’t going to be easy getting there: there was a vast wilderness desert to walk through first.  Although they were traveling in a desert land, they nevertheless wanted to have in the desert what they had in Egypt. I’m talking about the fishes, onions, garlic, and an abundant water supply.  They didn’t have Egypt’s provisions in the desert. They left one kind of trial in Egypt (slavery) and walked into another trial in the desert (deprivation). This is the reason why they complained a lot. The present way through the desert involved too many trials! Apparently, they thought that when they left Egypt, there would be no more trials.

A. The Way Is a Way of Trial & Tribulation. Have you, like the Israelites, forgotten that you’re in a desert journey to the promised land? Don’t you know that the way you’re in is a way that’s paved with trials and tribulations? Acts 14:22 tells us we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Not just tribulation, but much. A lot of it. We are like sheep destined for the slaughter (Romans 8:36). We are appointed unto the suffering of trial and tribulation (1 Thessalonians 3:4). Brethren, the way is hard and trying. And if you’re expecting life to be a whole lot easier, trial-and-trouble-free, free from the narrow and rigorous demands of faith and holiness, a little Heaven on Earth; then it’s no wonder you’re discouraged! Life isn’t going your way. It isn’t going the way you want or expect it to go. The truth of the matter is, it won’t. Life for the Christian will go the one way God ordained for it to go and that’s around the land of Edom, through the pathway of much tribulation.

B. A Distorted View Of Egypt & The World.  The problem, all too often, is people forget what life in Egypt was really like. They look at the present trials and hardships of the way, then look back and see what an easier life they had in Egypt; they reminisce on all the fun and good times they had back then. And when they get to comparing the present to the past, the comparison and memories of the past adds fuel to the discouragement.

But the fond memories of the past are a one-sided picture of Egypt fraught with distortion.

• So you don’t like having a Moses around to tell you what to do? You want to live and do as you please? Just remember. You had Pharaoh back there in Egypt who told you what to do. He didn’t let you live and do as you pleased. You were his slave and you had to do what he told you to do.
• So you don’t like the trials you’re going through? You think life should be a whole lot easier on you? Just remember. You had trials in Egypt too! You seem to forget about the taskmasters who whipped and beat you when you didn’t show up for work or when you didn’t do as much work as they wanted you to do. Have you forgotten the beatings?
• So you lack water in the desert. Big deal! You lacked straw in Egypt (Exodus 5).
• So you had the fish and onions in Egypt. But if life in Egypt was so good and dear to you, why did you end up leaving? You seem to have forgotten that you got so sick and tired of Egypt. You cried out to God to save you and get you out of there.
• You say the desert is one big trial and threat to life. How many of your brethren and ancestors did Egypt kill? Brethren, you’ve got to remember that as hard as the present way may be, life in Egypt was harder yet: it was what caused you to leave Egypt in the first place.

C. The Way Is A Way Of Blessing, Provision, & Answers To Prayer.  To this point, we’ve been saying that if the way has become a matter of complaint and discouragement to you, you need to get a fresh perspective of the Christian life. You’re on a journey to the promised land. You’re not yet in the promised land. The desert is not the promised land. Being in a desert means there will be desert trials and tribulations to go through.

Having said all that, we need to say in the same breath that the Lord provides for the care and well-being of His people. He gave water and manna to His people. Not one of three million Israelites died in the desert of hunger or thirst! None! He led them with the pillar of cloud and fire so that they would know the way to go. He protected them from their enemies and gave them victory in war against the Amalekites, Canaanites, Midianites, and more. They walked for forty years, yet their clothes did not wear out, neither did their feet swell (Deuteronomy 8:4). There was not one feeble person in their midst (Psalm 105:37).

Yes, there were judgments of God upon them and thousands of them died. But they died because they messed up, not God. But even in the midst of judgment, God provided deliverance for the millions who survived: the intercessions of Moses brought forgiveness; the censers of incense  stayed the plague; and the brazen serpent  quenched the venom of fiery serpents.

The way, I am saying, was hard. But God proved His love and mercies over and over again: He led them, provided for them, forgave them, healed them, preserved them. While the way was hard, God gave them His blessings and mercies to help them walk the way. Here are some verses you can look up. Exodus 16:35, Joshua 23:14, and Nehemiah 9:19-21.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 6. If life has been one big headache and heartache for you and you’ve not known God’s blessings or provisions, then something is very wrong with this picture. Stay tuned and watch God get things back into focus.

RISING ABOVE DISCOURAGEMENT

Having gone through the valleys and dark nights of discouragement, all of us should know by now that discouragement is a killer. It kills as it slowly takes our strength, our joy, our courage and faith, away from us. Brethren, it is this knowledge of what discouragement does that must prompt us all to put discouragement far from us. We must resist it and rise above it when the way gets hard and Satan decides he wants to walk with us and talk to us about the hardness of God’s ways.

It’s always easier not to resist or do anything about what’s bothering us. But the more we let discouragement work, and the longer we allow ourselves to be discouraged, the harder it is to rise above it. Why is that? Because we get weaker and more apathetic with each passing hour and with each passing day. It’s hard to do something when you’re too weak to do it and when you don’t even care about doing it. The time to deal with discouragement is now! Let’s nip it in the bud before the venom of fiery serpents takes its toll.

l. DELIVERANCE, HEALING, AND A NEW LEASE ON LIFE BEGIN WITH REPENTANCE.  The first thing you need to do when you’re discouraged is repent for the moaning and bellyaching you’ve done. In all likelihood, if you’re discouraged, you’ve done some of that. You’ve let the Lord and other people know how you feel about the hardness or unreasonableness of this Christian life.

If you read our Scripture text carefully, you’ll see that the Israelites didn’t complain to God. They complained to Moses. But in God’s sight, complaining to Moses was the same thing as complaining to God Himself: And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread (Num. 21:5).

When the Lord chastised them and brought them to repentance, the people admitted they had spoken or complained against the Lord: Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee (Num. 21:7a). While the people complained to Moses, God saw them as complaining to Him. When the Lord dealt with them about it, the people saw their sin and action from God’s perspective. They saw it the same way God saw it: “When we complained to Moses we were also complaining to the Lord!”  Friends, you need to know that when you complain about the hardness of God’s ways, you’re automatically complaining to the Lord. That’s the way the Lord sees it and that’s the way you’ll eventually see it when the fiery serpents start biting.

Now there’s no doubt the way is hard. The children of Israel had to go around the land of Edom. They had to go through barren desert land. There was nothing imaginary or made-up about the people’s circumstances or about the people’s complaints. What the people were complaining about was true! The way was hard!  But JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE VALID, LEGITIMATE THINGS TO COMPLAIN ABOUT DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD COMPLAIN. IT DOESN’T MAKE COMPLAINING RIGHT.

Brethren, the hardness of the Christian life should not be made a matter of complaint! Why? Because complaining doesn’t do any good. I’m wondering if I can just stop here and let these last five words sink fully into our heart: complaining doesn’t do any good! To the contrary, it makes matters worse and it gets you into trouble with God. When the way got tough, the people complained: And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. (5a) And the people spake against God, and against Moses (Num. 21:4,5a).

• Now notice that when the people complained about the way, their complaints did not make the way easier. In fact, the way got harder because the people now had to deal with fiery serpents crawling and biting all over the place.
• When the people complained about their trials, their complaints did not stop or take away their trials. Their complaints brought on more trials (really, chastisement) and these added trials-so-called were even deadlier than the trials that they were already going through with water and food. Their added trials killed many of them.
• The people’s complaints did not change God’s mind about the way He had chosen for them to go. When God heard their complaints He did not change His mind about the detour around the land of Edom. God stuck to His way. He did not make it easier for the people, He did not choose an easier way.
• The people’s complaints did not stop them from going the way God wanted them to go. Even though it was harder, more inconvenient, and more time- consuming, God wanted them to go around the land of Edom. That’s the way He led them and that’s the way they went. Their bellyaching did not stop them from going through the trial: they still had to go through it.
• The only way the people could get out of having to go God’s way was death. Those who didn’t like God’s way and who didn’t repent of their complaining ended up not going God’s way. They died.

The people’s complaints, I am saying, didn’t do them any good. It didn’t help them. When God dealt with them about their complaints, the people had only one choice: either repent or die.

When we complain today because of the hardness or unreasonableness of the way and of the Word, the choice is not as clear-cut because there aren’t any literal fiery serpents around to kill us. We can complain and still live through it: God doesn’t strike us dead. And because He doesn’t strike us dead, that makes it easier for us to go on ahead and complain without giving much thought about the need to repent. No serpents, no confession. No chastisement, no repentance.

You see, it was the chastisement of fiery serpents that brought the people to repentance. If God hadn’t sent the serpents, they would have kept up their complaints. But the serpents brought their complaints to an end: it brought them to confession and repentance of sin.

Brethren, just because God hasn’t sent you the serpents yet doesn’t mean it’s alright for you to keep on complaining about God’s way; just because God’s hand of chastisement hasn’t got ahold of you yet doesn’t mean you don’t need to repent. Friends, now is the time to repent. Do you need serpents before you will repent?  Complain all you want–complaining will not do you any good!

Notice in the text of Scripture that WHEN THE WAY GOT TOUGH, IT GOT EVEN TOUGHER WHEN THE PEOPLE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT. People started dying all over the place because of the serpents. However, it was repentance that brought the bellyaching to an end: it was repentance that brought healing and a new lease on life. When the people repented, God saved them from death.

Brethren, when the way gets tough and you don’t feel like it’s right, you don’t feel like going on, the answer is not to complain. If you do complain, then you need to know that you stand in need of repentance. Without repentance, you, like the Israelites, will ultimately die. The easy way will kill you (Matthew 7:13).Your faithlessness will kill you  (Hebrews 4:11).Your departure from God and His truth will kill you (1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Peter 3:17).

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 5. I’ll continue to show you how you can get up when you’re down. The cool thing is, it really isn’t that hard—not if you have a mind to get up and enjoy life again. You’re not doing it alone: God will help you. Check in next time for a lift.

THE DANGERS AND CONSEQUENCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT

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3. DISCOURAGEMENT LEADS TO MURMURING.  Discouragement, despair, and self-pity eventually lead to murmuring. You look around at what’s happening to you. You don’t like it. It’s hurting or adversely affecting you. So what do you do? Like the Israelites, you blame God! And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. (5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread (Numbers 21:4,5). It’s all God’s fault! God’s wrong for allowing the trial. He’s wrong for letting the trial go this far. This long. He’s wrong for not answering our prayers.  He’s wrong for not making matters any better. He’s wrong for making life so hard. God’s wrong!

The purpose or advantage of making such accusations against God is it puts all the blame and responsibility on God. You can drop out of the race, you can walk out of the furnace, you can leave the Lord and the church; blaming God and maintaining your rightness and innocence. It’s all God’s fault. And as long as it’s God’s fault, you’re not to blame. You’re not wrong!  So, with this summary judgment, you do whatever you want to do, you go wherever you want to go, without shouldering any guilt or responsibility. It isn’t your fault!

4. DISCOURAGEMENT TAKES YOU BACK.  When you fear for your life and welfare (this desert walk will kill me!), you’ll do what you must to try and preserve it. You see, the Israelites were in a barren desert land with very little food and water. It didn’t look too good for them. The desert didn’t look too promising. There wasn’t much hope that the desert would feed them and quench their thirst. If you read through the entire wilderness narrative (Exodus & Numbers), you’ll find that most of the Israelites’ complaints had to do with food and water: they complained about the desert’s threat to their physical well-being. In a word, they feared for their lives.

Brethren, you’re not in a literal desert. But often times, this life with all its trials is every bit like a desert. And you can get to fearing for your life. How is this trial going to end?  Pondering on the way, it doesn’t look too good and it doesn’t look like it’s going to end well for you. So what do you do? You try to preserve your life and insure your safety or well-being. How do you do that? You quit walking with the Lord, you leave the church, and you go back to Egypt.

For some, (1) Egypt is the world and the freedom to do whatever they want to do. The freedom to be lustful and live for the flesh. (2) For others, Egypt is the false religious systems of man that allow you to believe whatever you want to believe; live however you want to live; without getting any flack or conviction about it. No laws. No rules. God doesn’t really want anything from you. He doesn’t expect you to do anything for Him. All He wants is for you to believe Him and if you do that, you’ll go to Heaven. (3) For still others, Egypt is a no-man’s-land, a barren wilderness. They’re not in the world, they’re not in church. They stay at home, to themselves and go nowhere, spiritually speaking. It’s called spiritual stagnancy, complacency, and lukewarmness.

5. DISCOURAGEMENT KILLS YOU! If you don’t get rid of discouragement, discouragement will ultimately kill you in a spiritual way. It’ll kill you in Egypt. It’ll kill you in compromise and delusion. It’ll kill you in complacency and apathy. Discouragement kills!

Like many of the Israelites, the desert journey ended in death. When the way got tough, the people became discouraged. In their discouragement, they complained and let their tongue run loose against God and against their God-chosen leader. And their complaining, in turn, ended in death: And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died (Numbers 21:6). The Lord didn’t allow His people to complain and get away with it. He dealt with it.

Brethren, you can’t complain, criticize and find fault with God and His ways and get away with it. God will deal with you about it. And when that happens, it isn’t very pleasant. God doesn’t take too kindly to your complaints. The way may be hard and discouraging; there may be lots of things to complain about. But considering God’s provision thus far, His miracle of manna and water out of rocks, His many answers to your prayers, and His preservation of your life and soul to date; you really have nothing to complain about! You have no business finding fault with God! That kind of conduct can only lead to your demise in the desert. So you’re not happy with the way things are going? My friends, watch out! Fiery serpents are close at hand.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 4. When you’re down and out, what can you do to get up and going again? You don’t want to miss this next blog. Come on by and, instead of letting the Devil bury you, we’ll get you out of the hole and bury him instead.

DEFINITION OF DISCOURAGEMENT

Webster defines discouragement as the state of being disheartened or dispirited, not having courage or hope. The word is synonymous with depression, dejection, and hopelessness.

In the Hebrew, the word discourage (qâtsar) basically means ‘short’ and it’s used figuratively to denote being short of courage, patience, or endurance. The idea here in Numbers is one of utter discouragement: the people did not like the way. They were worn out. They had reached the limits of their endurance.

THE REASON AND CAUSE FOR DISCOURAGEMENT

Why did the people become discouraged? They became discouraged because of the way: And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way, Numbers 21:4. They had to go around the land of Edom. The way was long and the land was arid. They didn’t like the inconvenience the Edomites  put them through. So they became discouraged.

It’s not different for us today. Like the Israelites, we become discouraged because of the way. We don’t like the way things are going. We don’t like the trials we’re in. We don’t like what’s happening to us. Things aren’t going the way we want them to go. Our prayers aren’t getting answered fast enough. If at all. We’re tired of the inconveniences and frustrations that are all too common in the way. The journey’s too hard. The way is too narrow. God’s got too many laws or requirements: His standards and demands are just too lofty, too idealistic, no one can live it. There’s so much opposition to us–and it’s even coming from our relatives, our brethren–the Edomites. It’s getting too lonely. We’ve lost too many of the brethren. We’ve got no friends.  The manna we’re getting every day or every week is supernatural, fresh from Heaven. But we’re used to it. We’ve had so much of it that we’ve come to despise it. It’s getting old. We’re tired of the same old manna, the same old message, the same old Word. We want something different. Something easier. Something less convicting or demanding. We’ve walked enough! We’ve suffered enough! We’ve had enough! We’re discouraged because of the way. And as a result, we find fault with God.

The cause of discouragement is painfully simple: it’s Self. We’re discouraged because things aren’t going our way: they aren’t going the way we would like for them to go. The Lord isn’t doing it the way we want Him to do it: the preacher isn’t preaching what we want him to preach; the message and walk aren’t what we want them to be. We’re not getting our way; we’re not having it our way. And because we’re not dying out to our own way, problems arise. Brethren, the Lord is talking to us in this hour about the need for us to die out to our own way. Have we gotten the message yet? Are we dying out yet? If not, then that’s the reason why we’re discouraged.

THE DANGERS AND CONSEQUENCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT

It’s easy to become discouraged, especially when there are so many discouraging things going on and too many discouraging things happening. And while it’s easy to give in to discouragement, seldom, if ever, do we take the time to consider beforehand what happens to us when we become discouraged.

If people knew there was a bomb in the plane, they wouldn’t fly that plane. If they knew a barge had damaged the bridge, they wouldn’t drive over that bridge. If they knew the salesman was dishonest, they wouldn’t have done business with him.  Do you see what I mean? Knowledge of danger or wrong keeps us from plunging headlong into trouble.

And by the same token, it’s easy to rush into something when we don’t know what lies ahead and don’t see the dangers involved. Brethren, discouragement has its dangers. There are risks involved when we give in to discouragement. And if we had the foresight, I would like to believe we’d think twice and not be too quick about giving in to discouragement. So what happens when we become discouraged?

1. DISCOURAGEMENT WEAKENS US.  One of the most harmful things discouragement does to us is it weakens us. Discouragement affects our spirit. It controls our spirit. Hence, it affects and controls our whole outlook on life: it affects and controls our attitudes and the way we respond to life’s problems or situations. Like a serpent coiled about its victim, discouragement saps all the life, joy, hope, and enthusiasm out of us. It drains us of all our spiritual energies. It weakens us. It causes us to become weary and tired. It robs us of the strength, motivation, or willingness to endure the trial, fight the war, run the race, and finish it.

Beloved, spiritual weariness is Satan’s tactic of the hour. It’s what he’s doing most against those of us who have committed ourselves to the Lord. Do you know why Satan’s fighting hard to discourage us? Because when a person is tired, he doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t care anymore. He doesn’t care about anything. He’s deaf and apathetic towards everything else. He can’t do anything. He doesn’t want to do anything. All he wants is rest. He just wants to be left alone so that he can get some rest.

And it’s the same way in the spiritual realm. When you become weary in spirit, you don’t care about anyone or anything. You don’t care anymore. And because you don’t care, it’s very hard for anyone to reach out and minister to you. You don’t hear, you don’t listen, because you don’t care. Nothing matters to you. Nothing concerns you. You aren’t interested. You’re tired. You can’t go on. You just want to be left alone. And when people won’t leave you alone, if the problems don’t stop, you get ugly and mean. It’s like you become another person.

2. DISCOURAGEMENT LEADS TO DESPAIR. It is the nature and work of discouragement to breed despair. When you’re discouraged and you don’t take care of it, you eventually become a very despairing person without faith or courage or hope. You see, discouragement is often what happens when you allow your senses to go uncontrolled. You look at the way, you look at the journey ahead, you look at the trials today, you let your mind reason any old way it wants to. And the result is, you become discouraged because of the way. Discouragement, I am saying, is a product of uncontrolled senses.

When you look at how bad things are going, two things invariably result. First, you despair. You’re so busy looking at the giants and Goliaths that you lose sight of God, you forget what God can do. You don’t see any remedies. You see no door of escape. Hope fades, my friend, when your vision is blurred. WHEN YOU GET YOUR EYES ON CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU LOSE SIGHT OF GOD. AND WHEN YOU LOSE SIGHT OF GOD, YOU LOSE COURAGE, HOPE, AND FAITH. That’s the way it always is! You lose courage, hope and faith when you get your eyes off of God. As a result, because you’ve got no courage or faith, you don’t do anything. You don’t rise up and fight back. You sit still and let the Devil run ram shod all over you. You resign yourself to “whatever will be, will be.”  Little do you realize that with God and with faith, whatever will be, won’t be.

And a second thing that happens when you let your senses wander is self-pity. You look at all the bad things that are happening to you and you get to pitying yourself. You feel sorry for yourself because it doesn’t look too good for you. You become a very self-centered person.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 3. More on the things discouragement does to you. It’s such a sad picture that you just don’t want to have anything to do with discouragement. It’ll motivate you to get out of that hole in the ground and look at the sunshine of God’s love and power.

SCRIPTURE TEXT

Numbers 20:14-21 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: (15) How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers: (16) And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: (17) Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. (18) And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. (19) And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. (20) And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. (21) Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

Numbers 21:4-9 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. (5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. (6) And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (7) Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (8) And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

THE WAY THAT DISCOURAGES US

Many sermons have been preached on the brazen serpent. And rightly so. But in this series of blogs we want to focus our attention on the circumstances that gave rise to the fiery serpents. What brought on the fiery serpents? As we read in Scripture, the people journeyed from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea in order to compass the land of Edom.

Now the word compass simply means to go around, or bypass; it’s the same thing as taking a detour. Now you know that a detour is seldom, if ever, a short cut. It’s generally the long way around and no one likes it: it’s inconvenient and takes that much more time to get to one’s destination. And this is exactly what happened at Mount Hor.

The shortest way to the promised land was through the land of Edom. Now the Edomites were descendants of Esau. The Israelites were descendants of Jacob, who was Esau’s younger brother. The Israelites and Edomites, then, were relatives. They were family. But the Edomites refused to let their brethren pass through their land.

Consequently, the Israelites had to go around their land. This meant going back down by the Red Sea, towards the Gulf of Akaba, then eastward, and finally back northward around the land of Edom and into the land of Moab. This route, naturally, was a longer one. It involved going through miles and miles of barren desert land, with little food or water. The conditions were right, or ripe, for complaining. And, as you would expect, that’s exactly what the Israelites did.

Now the distressful nature of the journey did not justify or legitimize the people’s complaints. Just because you have something to complain about doesn’t mean you should complain. It doesn’t mean it’s alright for you to complain.

Did you catch what the Israelites said in their confession of repentance to Moses? They said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee (Numbers 21:7). They acknowledged their complaining as sin. Brethren, COMPLAINING IS SIN! And God doesn’t take too kindly to that sin.

DISCOURAGEMENT BRINGS ON COMPLAINTS

COMPLAINTS BRING ON SERPENTS

When the Israelites complained, the Lord sent them fiery serpents. Now these serpents were not serpents of fire. They were not serpents that were somehow mysteriously set on fire. Rather, fiery serpents denote the burning sensation that is felt when one is bitten by such a serpent. The bite would become inflamed with heat and poison. In a very real and felt way, it burned. As a result of these serpentine bites, many of the Israelites died. God punished them for their complaining. Their complaints resulted in their death.

What I would like for you to see from the text of Scripture is, the fiery serpents began with discouragement: And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way (Numbers 21:4). The fiery serpents began with discouragement. And for many of the Israelites, they ended in death. The people were discouraged with the way. And as a result, they died in the way. Discouragement ended in death.

I suppose it comes as no news to you that the same holds true today. Many in the Christian way have become discouraged with the way. The journey has become a matter of complaint. There’s always something to complain about. People are not shy about letting us know what they don’t like about the preacher or the church. And just like the Israelites, the congregation has become a little more sparse as fiery serpents slither their way through the camp, releasing their venom on those who find fault with God and the way. The discouraged among us are dying. Many have already died. They’ve left the Lord and have gone back to the vomit of the world. They’ve forsaken the truth for something easier and more palatable to the flesh. And while many have already died, more are on the way. Are you one of these of whom I speak? Have you found fault with God and the way? Are you ready to give up? Are you ready to leave the Lord, the church, and the Christian life?

MY PLEA TO YOU

My friends, don’t throw in the towel! Don’t be so ready to quit. Sure, the trials are fiery. But so are the serpents! The road to Heaven may not be heavenly. But the easy way to Hell is definitely hellish! You don’t turn away from the Lord and go to Heaven to be with the Lord! When you choose to live without the Lord now, you’ve chosen to live without the Lord for all eternity. When you turn away from God and go back to the world and the sinful life you once knew, you’re going down the road that will lead you to Hell. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. (39) But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul (Hebrews 10:38-39).

Sure, you ‘re discouraged. Who of us doesn’t battle discouragement at some time in the way? You’ve got to remember you’re not the only pickle in the jar. You’re not the only lobster in the pot. You’re not the only catfish in the pan. The way that’s hard for you is the same way that’s hard for the rest of us. We’re all in this journey together. The things that are discouraging you are discouraging us too. We lack the same bread and water that you do. We travel through the same barren desert that you do. You’re not alone.

But some of us have, by God’s grace, managed to get back up, rise from the ashes of discouragement, and press on in the Christian journey. You can too! We looked at the brazen serpent. And so can you! Discouragement doesn’t have to end in death. You may have found fault with God. You may have been bitten by serpents. But it’s not over yet. You’re still here. You’re still alive. Don’t sit there and let the serpents bite! Don’t let the poison take your life! Do something good for yourself and look! Look at the brazen serpent. Look to the Lord. Look to the promises. And look at what God has to say to you in this hour. God has lifted up the brazen serpent for you! And it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived (Numbers 21:9). The brazen serpent was meant to heal and deliver and restore life to all God’s people. And that, my friends, includes you! The brazen serpent is still lifted up. And it’s still lifted up for you.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 2. I look at what discouragement does to you. How it affects you. It’s not anything you don’t already know. But you need a good talking-to to help you see what you’re allowing discouragement to do to you. If you want to wake up from the nightmarish dream that your life is, come by next week for our next wake up call.