I’ve been reading about Miriam, Moses’ sister, in Numbers, chapter 12. I pray now, that God place a guard over my mouth, so I won’t complain! Have you ever listened to yourself? I began listening to myself as I converse with people, and we complain about everything!

Numbers 12 – “1NOW MIRIAM and Aaron talked against Moses [their brother] because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite woman.

2And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Has He not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.

3Now the man Moses was very meek (gentle, kind, and humble) or above all the men on the face of the earth.

4Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting. And the three of them came out.

5The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the Tent door and called Aaron and Miriam, and they came forward.

6And He said, Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make Myself known to him in a vision and speak to him in a dream.

7But not so with My servant Moses; he is entrusted and faithful in all My house.

8With him I speak mouth to mouth [directly], clearly and not in dark speeches; and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?

9And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and He departed.

10And when the cloud departed from over the Tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron looked at Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous!

11And Aaron said to Moses, Oh, my lord, I plead with you, lay not the sin upon us in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned.

12Let her not be as one dead, already half decomposed when he comes out of his mother's womb.

13And Moses cried to the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech You!

14And the Lord said to Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed for seven days? Let her be shut up outside the camp for seven days, and after that let her be brought in again.

15So Miriam was shut up without the camp for seven days, and the people did not journey on until Miriam was brought in again.”

Well, how many of us are like Miriam? How many of us work in the church, and yet criticize others for not doing things the way we would, or we think they should? Miriam did not enter into the promised land. Numbers 20:1 says that she died in Kadesh. God worked through Miriam, who was a prophetess, but she still walked around the mountain more than once, and never saw Canaan.

This kind of scares me. Even though we may be planting God’s Word, we could be blocking God’s blessings when we complain about people He has put in authority over us. For women, that would include our husbands, who is our authority in our homes; then there's our boss in our job; the pastor of our church; the law (man’s law) which is the authority in our lives (we choose those laws somehow, so watch your sneaky legislators); and then there’s our president.

Check out this sequence of events. God punished Miriam for complaining, Aaron was remorseful and asked Moses for healing, Moses asked God, so there were two people in agreement asking for healing, and God healed her. God chastises those He loves.

Jesus said in Revelations 3:19-22 – “19Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].

20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.

21He who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne.

22He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).”