Genesis 41:46-57
1 Corinthians 4:8-20 (21)
Mark 3:7-19a
Evening: Psalm 6:1-10
Our Covenant Groups have been following the grumbling Israelites through the wilderness, and their attitude is downright contagious. I have never been more tempted to grumble myself than since I was called to the ministry; we're big time grumblers in the church, Amen? I confess I get sucked up in it. And it always causes more trouble. That was the gist of my sermon yesterday. I told my congregation,
Well, if you want to stumble in your relationships, in your Christian walk, if you want to upset God, aggravate and depress other people, and hinder the Holy Spirit, if you want to live life in a bad mood, all you’ve got to do is open your big mouths and grumble.
I concluded that grumbling is the resulting behavior of rebellion against authority. I spent many hours as I prepared this message in repentance. Ouch.However in reading and meditating on the psalms, I have discovered what grumbling is NOT. It is not being honest before the Lord, our God about our worries and fears, our doubts and even our disappointments with God over the course of our life. Sickness, poverty, shame, sin. When real life smacks us in the face, when we're struggling with direction and temptations, we're not just supposed to "suck it up," and act nice-nice. I daresay, we cannot.
What we can do is lay it all out before the Lord, no hold outs, trusting that God is all-powerful to take it all on. That makes our moaning, sighing, our silence and debating, a holy lament rather than a defeatist and self-centered bitch session.The psalmist again:
Psalm 6:1-10
1O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger,or discipline me in your wrath.2Be gracious to me, for I am languishing; O LORD,O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. 3My soul also is struck with terror,while you, O LORD—how long? 4Turn, O LORD, save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who can give you praise? 6I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.7My eyes waste away because of grief; they grow weak because of all my foes. 8Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. 9The LORD has heard my supplication; the LORD accepts my prayer.
In the center of this lament is The Lord. Grumbling gets us in trouble when bitch to anyone but God first. When we doubt God's power over our circumstances. That's why Joseph's brothers threw him in the pit. That's why Israel stayed in permanent time out in the wilderness. That's what Paul kept warning his churches about. That's why we blow up at the people we love, get irritated at the store clerk, we get arrogant. Grumbling is a poor witness to the world who God knows, has tried to run the universe on its own power. And when we believe the universe revolves around us.The psalmist brings me out of my grumbling and back to the wonder of God's power, whose greatness is beyond my circumstances:
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.4One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.5On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
Instead of grumble at the world, let's rumble for the Lord! (sorry that's really corny...)
2 comments:
I have been guilty of grumbling on many occassions, and it has only made things worse in that attitude affects how we deal with circumstances. I have been dealing with a particular issue for some years now and have been ticked off with God about it. It has been a source of grumbling. I can see that he is not going to take away my "thorn" and I would do well to turn my grumbling into a lament that seeks him for comfort and hope rather than complaining about something that is not his will. I suspect as I do that, my attitude will improve and I will find the strength and hope I need to live life with the "thorn."
My prayers are with you in your lamenting. I am absolutely certain that "joy will come in the morning" for you.
I have discovered also that some people prefer to grumble than address their problems. You are addressing yours, praise God. Some stay addicted to conflict and struggle, and despair. Maybe they don't think they deserve peace. Or maybe they grew up in chaotic dysfunction. Or maybe they get attention when they act out. In any case, it still boils down to the fact that God's ways are not our ways, and if we put our life in God's hands, the grumbling will indeed disappear. And new life - however strange it seems in the beginning - will be ours.
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