It's OK to complain but...

In Numbers 11:4-5, the Israelites complained about not having meat. They longed for the good food they had in Egypt and grew tired of God's daily provision of manna. In response to their complaints, God sent quail from the sea to fall around the camp. However, as the people were gorging on the quail, God's anger burned against them and He struck them with a severe plague (Numbers 11:31-33).

In Numbers 11:10-15, when Moses heard the cries of the Israelites for more meat, Moses became aggravated. He complained to God that the burden he had been given to lead and care for the Israelites was too great. Moses even asked to be killed to be spared the misery. God responded to Moses' complaints by assigning seventy elders and leaders to assist him. God also reassured Moses that He would provide meat for the people.

Both the Israelites and Moses complained. But God's response to the former was negative, while His response to the latter was positive. Why the difference? I think the difference is in the nature of the complaints.

The Israelites were complaining against God Himself. They longed for Egypt... for the good food there, and conveniently forgot their slavery under the Egyptians. By longing for Egypt, they were rejecting God's mercy in freeing them and personally leading them, step-by-step, through the desert.

Moses complaints were complaints of frustration... that he felt when he found the load God had given him to be too heavy. He was not complaining against God, but rather against his own inability to live up to the task at hand.

From here, we can see that it's OK to feel frustration, and even to complain. However, we have to be careful that our complaints are not complaints against God or the good things He has provided. I believe that God is good. He knows the things that trouble us. And I don't think He disapproves when we come to Him with our worries and emotions.