No Time For Complaints

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.

Rainy Days

It has been raining a lot where I live lately. For me, sunny days typically bring smiles while cloudy days bring an attitude drop, but recently I have found just as much joy in the cloudy and rainy days as in the sunny and clear ones because I discovered in His Word that “the clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3) and that He will come to us like the rain (Hosea 6:3). Isaiah 55:10-11 tells me that just “as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,” so also the Word of God that “goes out from [His] mouth . . . will not return to [Him] empty, but will accomplish . . . the purpose for which [He] sent it.”

So now when it rains, I get so excited because it reminds me of the faithfulness of His Word and how He is with me. My heart rejoices in the clouds because I am comforted by the truth that He is watching over me. It is a perspective change that can only happen in Him because it is in His presence that the fullness of joy is found (Psalm 16:11). To delight in Him is to have a perspective shift. When our minds are governed by the Spirit, we have life and peace because we are delighting in His Word.

Joy in Abiding

Remember the Israelites? They had just been set free from being held in slavery by the Egyptians. The Lord was guiding them to the Promised Land and gave them manna from heaven and quail to eat (Exodus 16). He gave them water from a rock (Exodus 17:1-7) and led them by a pillar of fire at nighttime and a cloud at daytime (Exodus 13:21). He blessed His people with peace and gave them strength and led them out of bondage, yet they grumbled and argued because what they had was never enough for them.

But the future is never going to be better if every step you take is with an ungrateful heart of complaints. To complain is to express discontent or annoyance, but God says to “do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (Philippians 2:14-16). God calls us to a higher standard.

We all have storms that we go through. We have cloudy seasons and rainy circumstances, and in these times we have every reason to grumble and argue, but there is power in choosing to abide in the promises of God. His Word says that He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). So when we see something that does not look good, we can choose to trust God. Usually, the moments of our lives where it makes the most sense to complain are the very moments in which the Lord is longing to reveal to us the deepest joy.

Joy in Weakness

I had always looked at Paul’s words in Philippians 2 through the lens of not complaining or arguing about the things going on around me, but never did I think about not complaining or arguing about the things going on within me. When my weaknesses are brought to the front and center of my mind, and the things I don’t do well are a focus, I sometimes find myself grumbling and complaining about how weak and unable I am. And each time I speak negatively over myself, I fuel the flame of the evil one so that he would have all the more encouragement to attack with his arrows of deceit.

God calls us to speak His Word over ourselves just as much as He calls us to speak life and truth over others and the things happening around us. May our hearts not only be pure in how we see others but also in how we see ourselves. Instead of complaining about where we are personally in our walk with Him, may we be thankful that we have room to grow and that we get to navigate through the riches of God’s grace. It is such a beautiful dance. Some days I take three steps forward. Some days I take two steps back. Some days I take a step to the side, but hey, it’s growth. Dancing with Jesus does not look like stepping in a straight line. It is full of steps forward and backward and sideways. It is led by Him and is something so beautiful that we do not have time for complaints.

The beauty of giving your life to Christ is that you don’t respond as the world does. You can be a shining star bringing light to everyone around you. God’s will for us is to “rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). He doesn’t say to rejoice when it is easy but all of the time, and by doing so you will not only be satisfied in Him, but you will also bring the satisfaction that only comes from Jesus to the darkness around you.