Getting old and complaining?

 

It’s easy to find things to complain about. It’s too hot, or too cold. Why rain now? Look what that driver just did! That person never listens. The TV show is another re-run. My soup is too hot. On it goes… 

God is not pleased with grumbling. It dishonors Him, the one who promises all things work together for my good, and it flies in the face of my dear mother’s teaching that “we must need it or we wouldn’t be getting it.” And worse… 

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:14–15)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

I could say I’m just getting old and old people with all our aches and pains are just crotchety, but that is not what God intends. I’m supposed to be more like Jesus, not more like ‘old people’ and that means practicing spiritual disciplines with even greater zeal than ever before. My devotional reading lists several things for my attention. One group comes from the psalmist:

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! . . . .  For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. . . .  But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. . . .  O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. . . .  I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed. And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt. (Psalm 71:1–24)

Piper adds his thoughts and resolutions, but for me, I need to first confess, and do it quickly each time I find myself even mildly irritated. Has God ever failed me? Do I have any reason or right to be critical of anything He allows in my life? Has not the attitude of trusting Him been a refuge from even the most minor annoyances of life?

Speaking with Him is sometimes difficult for me (just as is speaking with other people) yet He provides words I can repeat, not like a parrot but saying them from my heart, like the above psalm… it can easily be a prayer of praise. I cannot praise God and complain at the same time, which I’m certain this psalmist had already discovered.

Piper writes of growing old and the idea of being in a nursing home. We live close to one, still in our own home but here deliberately so if we need care, it is close. I’ve visited people in facilities like this nearby one, but most of them are not like this one. The care level is optimal and when we go to that big building for the occasional meal or some activity, I notice that there are few, if any, “grumpy old people” in this place. They feel loved and it makes a difference. This is what the psalmist is getting at. He declares the love of God and His praise has an effect on his emotions and sense of well-being. 

PRAY: Jesus, with that, I must praise You. You have taken care of me for over fifty years since that day You came into my life and even before, from when I was born. I cannot complain. You even used the worst things to change my hard heart and give me better attitudes and deeper peace. You are utterly amazing — and yes, if something happens that I don’t like, I must remember that I need it or You would not allow it to happen, and remember Your promise: “Even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” (Isaiah 46:4)

Seeing God in the small things…

God’s sense of humor shows up now and then when He tests me on my statements of faith. Yesterday’s devotion was about the sin of grumbling. I used a few small things as examples, mainly because I realize how easily I can complain about the least inconveniences and not even notice that I’m doing it. If my topic is wars, or shootings, or wife-beating, or other headlines from the news that bother me, I might realize that my grumbling is telling God that I don’t trust His sovereign actions. But those little things? Easy to let them be a regular part of life.

However, this morning He tests me. My thumb hurts. Two weeks ago I felt good telling someone how copper socks enable me to be without arthritic pain even though x-rays say I should have it. But this morning, I have it. I could almost hear God saying, “Now, what was that you said about grumbling?”

The OT describes Israel’s response when life handed them hardship…

They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers. Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?” Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel, because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power. (Psalm 78:10–22)

The bottom line is that their faith was fine as long as it fit with their expectations, but when they craved more, or when the blessings were not to their preference, their lack of faith showed up. This story tells me what I must NOT do… don’t stop obeying Him, don’t forget all the goodness He shows me, don’t demand more and better, or complain.

God listens. Will I feel sorry for myself? Will I toss my socks in the trash? Will I go for pain killers? Will I grumble about this thumb, which is quite painful? Or will I thank God that I can trust Him, whether I’m hurting or not?

Reading the rest of Psalm 78 is a testimony to the love of God. In spite of their complaining, He kept pouring out His blessings. They “tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe” speaking of their exodus from slavery in Egypt. Yet in the end, He selected David to shepherd His people and continued to show them mercy.

This is God. Even when I am at my worst, He remains at His best. His love isn’t about my performance. He loves because of who He is, not because I deserve it. I know that even if I gripe, my sin was on the shoulders of my King, Jesus Christ who died so God could forgive me long before I was born. And for me, that is enough reason to ignore the pain and thank God for His remarkable goodness.

PRAY: Lord, if this is what You want for me, I will trust You. Even this small thing reminds me of my frailty and weakness, of my need for You and Your grace. Fill me with Your Spirit that I can be thankful for all things, even sore thumbs, that tell me You are with me and taking care of me. Bless Your holy name.

How to Quit Grumbling . . .

 

Some of us remember an older hymn telling us to “Count your blessings, name them one by one . . . .” and that is such good advice. I cannot complain and be thankful at the same time!

This verse may have inspired that song: Psalm 103:2. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” The rest of this passages describes some of those BENEFITS such as forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, mercy, renewal, justice, grace, compassion, and His sovereign rule.

Note that these benefits are mostly eternal matters. I find it easy to thank God during times of personal comfort such as: special meals, profitable days, good health, and fellowship with friends. However, the psalmist list blessings that are mine all the time, even in those not so good days. God grants these benefits when trials come, or the news is tragic, or someone verbally attacks me, or I’m experiencing pain. Even then, God encourages me to be thankful and count my blessings — benefits that He established in Christ and are mine no matter what!

Psalm 116:12 takes this a step farther by asking, “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?” The psalmist’s immediate answer is that he will “lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” keeping all vows he has made to Him, offering the “sacrifice of thanksgiving.” Being thankful when all seems wrong or at least uncomfortable may feel like a sacrifice but Job blessed God even when he lost everything but his life. I should be able to do that too.

Hebrews 4:2 says something interesting about God’s benefits:

“For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.”

This says to me that God can be beneficial towards me, but if I lack faith I will not realize I am being blessed. We all know people who have lots to be thankful for but they just want more and grumble if they don’t get it. If I am like that, I’ve forgotten the goodness of God or do not see it. I’ve forgotten that He loves me, or that He is in charge and sovereign, or that He uses all things to transform me into the image of His Son. If life is handing me lemons, instead of making lemonade, I am sputtering at the sharp and unpleasant taste and forgotten God’s good purposes and His benefits.

Another thought about God’s benefits is in 1 Corinthians 10:23. “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.” Applied, this is about my freedom to do what my conscience allows, but that does not automatically make it a benefit from God. For instance, I could spend the rest of today baking cookies. Nothing wrong with that but other activities could be more beneficial to my spiritual life or to help others. I need faith and the benefit of the Holy Spirit’s help to set priorities.

Hebrews 12:10 also compares parental disciple to God’s discipline. It says, “He disciplines us for our good (benefit), that we may share his holiness.” But seeing His rebukes as a benefit is easy to miss. I would rather be comfortable and blessed rather than saying thanks for the ‘benefit’ of a rebuke — at least at the time.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The more I focus on who God is and what He does, the easier it is to see that even the challenges of life are in His hands and He will benefit me. He wants me to be thankful for all things and respond in cooperation for whatever benefit is intended by them. The NT tells in Romans 1 how refusing to be thankful puts a person on a slippery slope into sin. Far better to be thankful, especially for those eternal benefits outlined in Psalm 103, but also for the temporary blessings. I need to remember how God’s goodness keeps me off that slippery slope.