Groaners or Grumblers?
The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Exodus 2:23-25
Author John Ortberg notes that there are two main words that the Bible uses to describe people’s response to suffering: groaning and grumbling.
As an example of the former, we read in Exodus 2 how… “The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”
Groaning
It's clear that this groaning registers with God, who says, “I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.” (Exodus 6:5)
In response to these groans, God raises up Moses as Israel’s deliverer and the rest is history. It’s clear that the groans of His people are welcomed by the Lord and trigger a powerful response.
David, the man after God’s own heart, knew more than his share of trouble and groaned so much that he suffered from groan fatigue. “My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? am worn out from my groaning…All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.” (Psalm 6:3, 6)
After pouring out his heart, David comes to this glorious conclusion: “…the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:8-9)
Grumbling
In contrast, grumbling happens in the Bible as often as groaning, but it doesn’t garner the same response.
So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” (Exodus 15:24…
You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt…to destroy us. (Deuteronomy 1:27)
They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD. (Psalm 106:25)
Grumbling, in fact, got some people into serious trouble: “And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel.” (I Corinthians 10:10)
What’s the Difference?
Clearly God commends groaning but condemns grumbling. So what’s the difference? According to Ortberg, in a nutshell, it’s this: “Groaning is complaining to God; grumbling is complaining about God. Groaning happens to God’s face; grumbling happens behind God’s back.”
“Groaning is complaining to God; grumbling is complaining about God. Groaning happens to God’s face; grumbling happens behind God’s back.”
– John Ortberg
“In the Bible, the place where people groan is on their knees – where they have been driven by sorrow, suffering, and adversity. The place where people grumble is in their tents where they think they are in private and are free to blame, play the victim, and excuse their lack of obedience.”
Grumbling is also contagious. When I make my irritations and frustrations know to everyone around me, eventually, it creates a toxic fellowship of grumblers which poisons community.
Grumbling is contagious. When I make my irritations and frustrations know to everyone around me, eventually, it creates a toxic fellowship of grumblers which poisons community.
On the other hand, in groaning, I speak directly to God about what troubles me. I hold nothing back. And in so doing, I join a different kind of fellowship – one with others who down through the years knew what it was like to suffer and pour out their hearts to the Lord.
In groaning, I speak directly to God about what troubles me. I hold nothing back. In so doing, I join with others who down through the years knew what it was like to suffer and pour out their hearts to the Lord.
In this broken world you will not lack for those occasions when you will be frustrated and disappointed. You will experience all too often those moments of pain and suffering. You can’t control that.
What you can control is your response. Will you allow it to trigger grumbling in which you accuse God? Or will it trigger groaning in which you access God?
The choice you make will trigger either the Lord’s frown or the Lord’s smile. Moreover, it will result in either His chastisement or His comfort. Choose carefully!
PRAYER
Lord, I recognize that, especially in this current season, there is so much that is discouraging and frustrating. And I have to admit that, all too often, I end up grumbling about what has happened to me. Forgive me for subtle yet significant accusation regarding Your sovereignty. Instead, may I pour out my pain through quiet yet honest groans, knowing that you not only are open to hearing them but willing to comfort me in them.
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