Through the lens of Young married

The thing Israel does in Exodus 16–17 is complain. They complain to Moses. They complain about each other. They look at what’s missing and grumble.

The thing they almost never do is cry out to God.

Marriages do this constantly. We complain about each other to anyone who will listen. We complain about each other in our heads, building cases, marshaling evidence. We complain to friends, parents, podcasts, our therapists’ notes. We almost never cry out to the Father together.

Complaint is when you tell the people who can’t fix it. Crying out is when you tell the One who can.

The Father did not punish Israel for being hungry. He punished them for being unable to ask Him. He had been carrying them on eagle’s wings. They still did not know they could just ask.

One small thing this week: when you find yourself complaining about your spouse — to a friend, in your head, on a vent — stop. Cry out to the Father about it instead. Then ask Him to tell you the harder thing — what He sees in you that needs work.