Grumble, Grumble

Is God sovereign? Is He wise? Trustworthy? Why do we grumble in  discontentment with the way things are going?

So many things in this life can bring us emotional frustration. Each of us has her own personal fountain of dissatisfaction: our families, the civil sphere of governments over which we have no authority to insist on change, from the economic sphere, the social sphere and more.

Our responses to these things will be dictated by how we answer the opening questions.

Sadly, most of us do not recognize our discontentment as sin. We fail to see God’s sovereign hand on our circumstances and so we fail to accept them as a way we can honor and glorify God in our responses to them.

God’s word says that His plans for us are established: Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. (Psalms 139:16)

The question is, will we accept them as God’s plan (His plans always have a purpose) or will we reject them and be discontent or even bitter about them?

In his book, “Respectable Sins,” Jerry Bridges points out that we can resign ourselves to the circumstances that we know we cannot change and still harbor hearts “smoldering in discontentment.” He goes on to point out that it is only acceptance of our circumstances, with the understanding that God will eventually reveal His purposes, that brings peace.

Our willingness to trust God in all circumstances will bring the only real peace that is available to us. Christmas is a time every year where there seems to be more discontentment because we have expectations that do not get met or envy is aroused by the displays of wealth or relationships that we don’t have.

How can we, “Delight in the Lord” trusting Him to give us the desires of our hearts in His time? This means not relying on other people but trusting God. Psalm 37:7-8 say, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over one who prospers in his way. Over the man who carries out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil”

As we grumble in our discontentment, it can lead to bitterness, anger, and wrath. All are sins before God. The holidays may be difficult from a human perspective but will we trust the Lord to keep us from expecting more than others can give or relying on anyone but Him to bring us Christmas joy?

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5