“Learn to accept in silence the minor aggravations, cultivate the gift of taciturnity, and consume your own smoke with an extra draft of hard work, so that those about you may not be annoyed with the dust and soot of your complaints.” – William Osler

The Israelites crossed the Red Sea after God parted the water.  Then they spent the next forty years wandering in the desert before they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.  They should have been able to make the journey in about eleven days.  Why did it take so long?

When we read the story, we discover that one of their major issues was complaining.  Instead of remembering the victory of the Red Sea crossing, they complained.  They complained about the food and the conditions and their leader and each other.  Is that why it took so long?