I read Psalm 14 this morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” and despaired at the human condition!
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Do all these evildoers know nothing?” (From Psalm 14:1–4)
I read this and recalled that the Bible says, even at our best, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags!” (Isaiah 64.6)
Then, I REALLY despaired!! …Until I recalled the wonderful “Good News” declared in 2 Corinthians 5.21… “God made Him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God!!” All I can say to that is heartfelt “Thank you” to God!! And Jesus, I’m so grateful for what you did on our behalf!! Imagine it… Guilty sinners, the “righteousness of God in Christ”!! Incredible! …Relieved and rejoicing!!
When we face frustrating situations… When things are not going the way we would like them to… Or frankly, when things just get “same-o, same-o, same-o, and we are bored to death… there are usually two (no three) behaviors we can default to… We can GRUMBLE, we can just GRIND AWAY – or we can do what God would have us do – express GRATITUDE for His blessing, His provision, His protection, His patience, or His power! (Did you notice the three “G’s”? 😉
What brought this to mind, you ask? Why, my Bible reading this morning! The Children of Israel, had just been marvelously and miraculously delivered from oppression and slavery in Egypt… they had reached the other side of the Red Sea… Then they sang a wonderful song of praise to God and entered the wilderness… No water! Bitter water! … and they complained (God gave them miraculous provision)… Then it was the food. And they complained against Moses and Aaron, their leaders (but ultimately against God)… Again God provided with something called “Manna!” (Exodus 15 – 16) You think they’re done “grumbling and complaining?” … Read on… It’s all part of their sad, default attitudes and actions!!!
And sadly, it’s often part of our default response to the circumstances of life! We either “grumble” or we silently and sullenly “grind away” unhappy with the way things are, our situation in life or what we find simply boring!
But there is a better way… A godly response for God’s people… a way that marks us as distinctive in the broader culture! Apostle Paul identified it for us (out of his circumstance – imprisonment!) Here’s what he said… “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, holding fast to the word of life (i.e. distinctive!)” (From Philippians 2:14-16 ESV) and in another place… same circumstances… “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, rejoice! … 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!” (From Philippians 4:4–7 ESV)
I don’t know about you, but with God’s help, and the Holy Spirit’s reminders, I want to choose (and learn to “default to”) GRATITUDE over GRUMBLING (or even just simply GRINDING AWAY)!
I don’t know about you, but I regularly get notifications about weather on my smartphone that are accurate about coming storms within minutes of their arrival! It’s incredible what technology has been able to accomplish and predict about the weather! If people are not careful, however, what science and technology can accomplish becomes a “god” … Do you recognize this phrase at all? … “We follow science!”
Yet there are other “signs” – important ones, critical ones – that are completely ignored!
Jesus – the Messiah, the Son of God – addressed that issue! I read the account of it in the Bible this morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord!”
Jesus addressed the religious leaders of His time who approached him skeptically”… “The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, ‘When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times! A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah’” (From Mattew 16:1-5) (Cp. Matthew 12:38-40 where Jesus indicates His resurrection would be a sign even greater to His age than Jonah’s miraculous deliverance from death – Jonah 2).
Listen, technology and science may help predict a coming storm, but God is the one who understands the “signs of the times” – the “last days” – and the approaching end of time. Yet many scorn the signs God has given in Scripture, and seek simply weak, ill-advised, human solutions to the moral and spiritual problems of our world. Let me tell you, I’ll take God’s analysis of “the coming storm” over human strategies to deal with them any time (cp. 2 Peter 3:1-15a for example)! The Almighty, Creator God of heaven and earth, knows what He is doing – not mere human ingenuity! He knows “the end from the beginning!”
