Complaining Can Make You Sick
Complaining can make you sick. There I said it. That sounds strong at first. Maybe too strong.
Most of us do not think of complaining as dangerous. We think of it as normal. We complain about traffic. We complain about customer service. We complain about prices, delays, leaders, family, churches, jobs, and the person who somehow takes forever in front of us at the store.
Sometimes we even dress it up to make it sound harmless. “I do not mean to complain, but…” Then we complain.
But what if complaining is doing more damage than we think?
What if complaining can make you sick, not only emotionally but also spiritually?
That was one of the strongest parts of a message we heard from Eric Geiger at Mariners Church in Irvine. Watch the full message here. He preached from Numbers 11, where the people of Israel began complaining openly before the Lord.
- They had been rescued from slavery.
- They had seen God provide.
- They had food from heaven.
- They had God’s presence with them in the wilderness.
And still, they complained.
The Bible does not treat complaining as a small issue. Numbers 11 shows us that God takes grumbling seriously because it reveals something deeper. Complaining is not just about what comes out of our mouths. It exposes what is happening in our hearts.
And that is where this gets personal.
Complaining Can Make You Sick
Because It Trains Your Heart
Research has shown that repeated complaining can affect stress, emotional health, relationships, and the way we see the world. That should get our attention. But the Bible goes deeper.
Complaining can make you sick because it trains your heart to see what is wrong before it sees what God has done.
In Numbers 11, the people of Israel were in the wilderness. They were not in Egypt anymore. They were no longer slaves. God had rescued them. God had provided for them. God had guided them. But their gratitude faded fast.
Numbers 11:1 says, “Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship.”
That phrase matters. They were not only having a hard time. They were accusing God in the middle of the hard time.
There is a difference between bringing your pain to God and accusing God of not being good. The Psalms are full of honest prayers, tears, questions, grief, and confusion. God welcomes His children to come to Him with their pain. But complaining is different.
Complaining says, “God, what You have given me is not enough.”
That is why complaining can make you sick. It turns your attention away from God’s faithfulness and toward everything you think you lack.
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Complaining Can Make You Sick
Because It Rewrites the Past
One of the saddest parts of Numbers 11 is what the Israelites remembered. They said they missed the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic they had in Egypt. That sounds almost reasonable until you remember one thing — they were slaves in Egypt.
Their memory had been twisted by complaint. They remembered the food, but forgot the chains. They remembered the taste, but forgot the suffering. They remembered what they wanted, but forgot what God had rescued them from.
That is what grumbling does. It makes the past look better than it was. It makes sin look safer than it was. It makes slavery look comfortable because the wilderness feels hard.
Complaining can make you sick because it distorts reality. The Israelites called the fish in Egypt “free,” but it was not free. It came with bondage. It came with oppression. It came with pain.
We do the same thing. We look back at old habits and forget what they cost us. We look back at old relationships and forget how they damaged us. We look back at seasons before we followed Christ and forget the emptiness we felt. We start craving Egypt because we are tired in the wilderness.
Sometimes What You Crave Will Take You to Your Grave
One line from the message stayed with us: Sometimes what you crave will take you to your grave.
That is not just a strong sermon line. It is the story of Numbers 11.
The people complained about the manna. God had given them bread from heaven, but they wanted meat. They wanted something else. So God allowed them to have what they craved. And the craving destroyed them.
That is one of the most sobering warnings in Scripture. Sometimes judgment does not look like God withholding what we want. Sometimes judgment looks like God giving us what we keep demanding.
Because craving is not always about food. Sometimes we crave approval. Sometimes we crave control. Sometimes we crave comfort. Sometimes we crave escape. Sometimes we crave a different life so badly that we stop seeing the life God has placed in front of us.
Complaining can make you sick because it feeds cravings that cannot heal you. You may crave acceptance so badly that you compromise your character. You may crave a relationship so badly that you lower your standards. You may crave escape so badly that you run to habits that enslave you.
But if that craving pulls you away from God, it will never lead to life.
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God Hates Complaining Because It Questions His Goodness
That phrase may sound strong, but Numbers 11 is strong. God hates complaining because it says something false about Him.
The Israelites were not simply saying, “This season is hard.” They were saying, “God, You have not been good to us.” They had been rescued, but they complained. They had been fed, but they complained. They had God’s presence, but they complained.
This is why complaining is so serious. It is not only negative speech. It is a heart posture that forgets grace.
Complaining can make you sick because it causes you to live as if God has not been faithful. And once that takes root, gratitude begins to die. You cannot grumble and be grateful at the same time. One will push out the other. If complaint grows, gratitude shrinks. If gratitude grows, complaint weakens.
That is not just good advice. That is spiritual warfare in daily life.
Complaining Can Make You Sick
But Gratitude Can Make You Whole
So how do you stay grateful? You remember.
That may sound simple, but it is one of the most important spiritual habits in the Bible. Remember what God has done. Remember what He rescued you from. Remember how He provided. Remember the prayers He answered. Remember the doors He opened. Remember the people He used. Remember the moments when you had no idea how you would make it, and God carried you anyway.
Gratitude is not pretending life is easy. It is not ignoring pain. It is not acting like hardship does not matter. Gratitude is choosing to tell the truth about God in the middle of the wilderness.
The Israelites were in a hard place, but they were not alone. God was with them. He had rescued them. He was leading them. He was feeding them. The same is true for every follower of Jesus. We are not where we will be. We are not where we once were. And we are not alone. That is a reason to be grateful.
The Bread from Heaven Was Pointing to Jesus
In John 6, Jesus called Himself the bread of life. That matters because the manna in the wilderness was never only about food. It pointed forward to the greater bread from heaven. Jesus is the true bread. He is the one who satisfies the deepest hunger of the soul. And still, people grumbled against Him.
That should make us examine our own hearts. Is Jesus enough? That is the real question under our complaining.
When we complain about what we do not have, we have to ask, “Has Jesus become too small in my heart?” When we complain about the season we are in, we have to ask, “Have I forgotten what He has already done?” When we complain about what God has provided, we have to ask, “Am I craving something that cannot give me life?”
Complaining can make you sick because it makes Jesus feel insufficient. But gratitude brings us back to the truth.
Jesus is enough. He rescued us from sin. He took our shame. He gave His body and blood for our forgiveness. He promised eternal life. He walks with us in the wilderness. He gives us His Word.
And that is why reading the Bible really can change your life — it turns your eyes back to the One who is enough.
In the mountains of Peru, we’ve handed out Bibles here too.
Why This Matters to Global Point Ministries
At Global Point Ministries, we give away Bibles in places where access to God’s Word is limited, difficult, or simply out of reach. That is why this message matters so much.
In many of the places we serve, people are facing real hardship. Poverty. Uncertainty. Pressure. Broken systems. Families trying to survive one day at a time. Pastors trying to shepherd churches with few resources. Children growing up in communities where hope can feel far away.
And when life is hard, complaint can come easily. But God’s Word gives people something deeper than complaint. It gives them truth. It gives them perspective. It teaches them to remember what God has done. It points them to Jesus, the bread of life.
A Bible in someone’s hands is not just a book. It is a way to hear God speak in the wilderness. It is a way to remember that hardship is not the end of the story. It is a way to learn gratitude when life gives you plenty of reasons to grumble.
That is why we go to hard-to-reach places. That is why we partner with local pastors and churches. That is why we place Bibles into the hands of people who may never be able to buy one for themselves.
Because complaining can make you sick, but the Word of God points people back to life.
People Need the Word of God in the Wilderness
There are many places around the world where a Bible is not easy to find. Some people live in communities where Scripture is scarce. Some churches do not have enough Bibles for the people gathering each week. Some pastors are teaching, preaching, and discipling with very limited resources. Some children are growing up without a Bible in their home.
That is why Global Point Ministries exists. We believe the Word of God changes lives. We believe people need Scripture in their own hands. We believe local churches are strengthened when pastors and families have access to the Bible. We believe that when God’s Word reaches hard-to-reach places, people are reminded that God has not forgotten them.
In the wilderness of poverty, they need truth. In the wilderness of fear, they need truth. In the wilderness of uncertainty, they need truth. In the wilderness of spiritual hunger, they need the Word of God.
Complaining can make you sick because it turns your heart inward. Scripture turns your eyes back to God.
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A Simple Practice for Fighting Complaint
If you are struggling with a complaint, start here. Read Numbers 11. Then ask yourself three questions:
- What am I complaining about right now?
- What has God already rescued me from?
- What can I thank Him for today?
Do not rush past those questions. Write the answers down. Pray through them. Say them out loud if you need to.
Complaint grows when we rehearse what is wrong. Gratitude grows when we remember what is true.
You may still be in the wilderness. The season may still be hard. The problem may not disappear today. But your heart can change before your circumstances do. That is the mercy of God.
He does not only rescue us from Egypt. He also rescues Egypt out of us. He teaches us to stop looking back at what enslaved us and start looking forward to what He has promised.
Complaining Can Make You Sick.
Gratitude Points You Back to God.
So yes, complaining can make you sick. Research points to it. Life confirms it. Scripture warns us about it. But the Bible does more than warn us. It gives us a better way — gratitude.
Gratitude for what God has done. Gratitude for what God is doing. Gratitude for what God has promised.
The next time a complaint rises in your heart, do not ignore it. Bring it to God. Ask Him what it is revealing. Ask Him where your craving has grown stronger than your trust. Ask Him to remind you of His rescue. And then open His Word.
Read Numbers 11. Read John 6. Remember Jesus, the bread of life.
He is enough in the wilderness. He is enough when life is hard. He is enough when cravings pull at your heart. He is enough when complaint feels easier than gratitude.
Complaining can make you sick. But Jesus gives life. And the Word of God helps us remember.
Help Place God's Word in More Hands
If you’ve made it this far in our article, we’re not complaining. In fact, we’re grateful to you. There are people around the world who are walking through hardship without easy access to the Word of God. Some live in hard-to-reach places. Some are led by pastors who lack sufficient Bibles for their churches. Some are children and families who have never owned a Bible.
That is why Global Point Ministries exists. We partner with local churches and leaders to place Bibles into the hands of people who need the truth, comfort, and hope of God’s Word.
If this message challenged you, we invite you to help us share that same truth with others. Your gift helps provide Bibles for people in hard-to-reach places.
Partner with Global Point Ministries today and help place the Word of God into more hands. When you give, you help someone receive the Bible they may never be able to buy for themselves.
