Remembering: An Antidote
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.[1] Their murmuring culminated in disobedience, which delayed their entrance into the Promised Land and prolonged their years in the wilderness.[2]
Interestingly, in Hebrew, the root of the word often translated as “murmur” can also mean “to lodge,” “to remain,” or “to pass the night.”[3] 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, His promises, and 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.”[4]
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.
[1] See Exodus 16:7–8.
[2] See Numbers 14:22-23; 29-34; Deuteronomy 8:2-3.
[3] “Lûn,” Blue Letter Bible, blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3885.
[4] Isaiah 41:10.
April 12, 2026 – Remembering: An Antidote
Broadcast Number 5,039
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Tempe Square
Conductor(s)
Mack Wilberg
Ryan Murphy
Organist
Richard Elliott
Host
Derrick Porter
Let All the World in Every Corner Sing
Ryan Murphy
Hear Him
Ryan Murphy
Hornpipe, from Water Music
George Frideric Handel, arr. Carl McKinley
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’, from Oklahoma
Richard Rodgers, arr. Arthur Harris
Alabare (I Will Praise)
Jose Pagan and Manuel Jose Alonso, arr. Mack Wilberg
It Is Well with My Soul
Philip Paul Bliss, arr. Mack Wilberg