This year, as part of my morning devotional time, I’ve been reading a daily devotional called, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. It is written as a conversation between the reader and Jesus. Some days it is so encouraging to me and some days it is really convicting. Today was one of those convicting days! It “hit me upside the head” as some would say in these parts of East Texas. :)Here's the devotional…
“You have been on a long, uphill journey, and your energy is almost spent. Though you have faltered at times, you have not let go of My hand. I am pleased with your desire to stay close to Me. There is one thing, however, that displeases Me: your tendency to complain. You may talk to Me as much as you like about the difficulty of the path we are following. I understand better than anyone else the stresses and strains that have afflicted you. You can ventilate safely to Me, because talking with Me tempers your thoughts and helps you see thing
s from My perspective.”
“Complaining to others is another matter altogether. It opens the door to deadly sins such as self-pity and rage. Whenever you are tempted to grumble, come to Me and talk it out. As you open up to Me, I will put My thoughts in your mind and My song in your heart.”
The reference verses are:
Jeremiah 31:25 – “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
Philippians 2:14-15 – “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”
I also thought of Matthew 12:34 that says “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”
How often do I just complain because it comes so naturally to me? Is my heart full of complaints and grumblings? According the Matthew 12:34, I guess it is. I need to change that! Instead, I should be thinking of how thankful I am for all of the blessings God has given me. Then, I need to talk about them instead of complaining.
That is my goal today…to “do everything without complaining or arguing.” I’m going to need a lot of prayer, but with God I all things are possible!
God bless you today, Kim!
ReplyDeleteWow...that hit hard! I have never thought of it as my heart being full of complaints when that is all I do! I come from a long line of pessimistic people...I want to break that chain in our family! "Do everything without complaining or arguing..." was the first verse I memorized on our little journey for this year...looks like I need to re-visit it!:) Thanks for the reminder and the encouragement that when we bring even our negative thoughts to the Lord He can turn them around! Love you friend!
ReplyDeleteVery well said. I will have to apply this to the relationships in my life. As Thumper's mom wisely stated, "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all."
ReplyDeleteI wrote a very long comment but it is gone now sorry.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouraging word!
Shellye