Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Murmuring is a word we’re all familiar with. It’s easy to murmur when inconvenience, disruption, or difficulty present themselves. The scriptures tell of individuals and multitudes who—at least temporarily, in moments of murmuring—forgot their connection to God and His power to deliver them.
Take, for example, the children of Israel who, during their wilderness journey, frequently murmured against Moses—and ultimately against God. Their murmuring culminated in disobedience, which delayed their entrance into the Promised Land and prolonged their years in the wilderness.
Interestingly, in Hebrew, the root of the word often translated as “murmur” can also mean “to lodge,” “to remain,” or “to pass the night.” In a way, the people of Moses camping in the wilderness did more than murmur or complain—they lodged and remained in their murmuring. In other words, they seemed to camp in their complaint.
Thousands of years later, it’s just as easy to get caught up in our own modern-day murmuring and sometimes to lodge or remain in it. Perhaps one antidote to murmuring, in ancient times and in our own, is to remember God, to remember His promises, and to remember where He is leading us.
His promise is not that we will never struggle or that we will always understand. Rather, He says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.”
The Israelites murmured, in part, because they failed to look forward to where God was leading them. Instead, they looked back, longing for the past, focusing on their present discomforts. So it can be with us. If we look only at our present situation, without lifting our eyes to the future God has promised, we too may be prone to murmur. God offers a grand destination for each of us, and that is to be home with Him.
Choosing to remember God mutes our murmuring. Focusing on Him and acting on His promises points us forward. And so, in those moments that are hard, when the days feel long, or when hope seems distant, let us remember that the same God who delivered Israel still delivers His children today.
Murmuring is a word we’re all familiar with. It’s easy to murmur when inconvenience, disruption, or difficulty present themselves. The scriptures tell of individuals and multitudes who—at least temporarily, in moments of murmuring—forgot their connection to God and His power to deliver them.
Take, for example, the children of Israel who, during their wilderness journey, frequently murmured against Moses—and ultimately against God. Their murmuring culminated in disobedience, which delayed their entrance into the Promised Land and prolonged their years in the wilderness.
Interestingly, in Hebrew, the root of the word often translated as “murmur” can also mean “to lodge,” “to remain,” or “to pass the night.” In a way, the people of Moses camping in the wilderness did more than murmur or complain—they lodged and remained in their murmuring. In other words, they seemed to camp in their complaint.
Thousands of years later, it’s just as easy to get caught up in our own modern-day murmuring and sometimes to lodge or remain in it. Perhaps one antidote to murmuring, in ancient times and in our own, is to remember God, to remember His promises, and to remember where He is leading us.
His promise is not that we will never struggle or that we will always understand. Rather, He says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.”
The Israelites murmured, in part, because they failed to look forward to where God was leading them. Instead, they looked back, longing for the past, focusing on their present discomforts. So it can be with us. If we look only at our present situation, without lifting our eyes to the future God has promised, we too may be prone to murmur. God offers a grand destination for each of us, and that is to be home with Him.
Choosing to remember God mutes our murmuring. Focusing on Him and acting on His promises points us forward. And so, in those moments that are hard, when the days feel long, or when hope seems distant, let us remember that the same God who delivered Israel still delivers His children today.
