To Whine Or Shine? Time To Choose
Does God sometimes redirect you in order to reveal to you a specific hard message simply because He cares about you? Last week we ended up visiting another church and we learned the Holy Spirit’s redirection is never wrong. Nothing happens accidentally by the way if God is in control of your life.
The title of last week’s sermon was entitled: Whine Or Shine? The truth is God takes our whine and murmurings seriously. Does our complaints bring honor to God’s name? On the contrary, according to Philippians 2:14-15, the Bible says:
Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world..
Why are the children of God guilty of this? In this age of crooked and perverse generation, do you find yourself easily agitated and quicken to grumble and complain? I know I do.. and I was convicted that to murmur and complain is a sin against God.
The Israelite wondered for forty years in the wilderness instead of weeks, all because of their murmurings and complaints. God put them through the wilderness for that long to let them understand that God was not pleased with what they did.
We grumble about many things in life stretching from politics, injustice, relationships, family, situations we are stuck in. The truth is when we complain, we put the blame back on God. We are unable to trust God that He is in control despite our fears and doubt. The truth I learned last week was that when we indulge in our complaints, all that God do through us become disqualified.
When God puts us in a situation we cannot comprehend, instead of complain and grumble, seek God and ask Him: ‘How can I bring glory to Your name in this situation?’ Sometimes, God wants to see what we would do in situations that require our faith and trust in Him.
By the end of that message, I realized that the only thing to do right was to seek God’s forgiveness and to leave my complaints behind at the cross of Jesus. You see, no one knew my complaints but God. What is done in the heart is as real as what is done outwardly. The only way to get right with God is to recognize and confess it. That pleases Him more than anything we do for Him or in His name. That, will bring honor and glory to His name.
Then Jesus in us will shine brightly once again. Only then will we shine as lights in the world because of the darkness and wickedness of this world. Let Him shine through you sons and daughters of the Almighty. Let Him shine!