"For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding".
From today's scripture readings: "when the people complained it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused" (Numbers 11:1). It's easy for us to look at the situations in Numbers and judge the Israelites. Yet, the Bible tells us in Romans 2:1, that if we do so, we are condemning ourselves because we do the same things. Our mouths get us in trouble on a regular basis and our words flow from the abundance of our hearts (Matthew 12:34). When I complain, my thoughts have evidently not been focused on God's goodness and love toward me. The Psalmist reveals in 119:11, that hiding God's word in our hearts can prevent us from sinning against God.
This situation should serve to send up red flags for us where complaining is concerned. God hears what I say and He does not take complaining lightly--He actually takes it personally. Do I complain about where God has placed me, what He has blessed me with, how He is providing for me? Maybe it's not what I had in mind, however, further consideration of my situation should bring me to a time of counting my blessings rather than complaining against God. My Father loves me and only wants what is best for me. I must know this without a shadow of a doubt in order to move from selfish thoughts to gratitude toward God.
Miriam and Aaron also had a problem with their mouths (and hearts) and spoke against Moses in chapter 12 of Numbers. God reminded them of the special relationship He had with Moses and He defended Moses. He then asked them why they were not afraid to speak against His servant? We are unfortunately part of a culture that no longer shows proper respect for one another. We need to flee from such disrespectful, end time attitudes by increasing our time in God's word and in prayer, so that we might come away with increased respect for God and for others. Hopefully we will come to realize the importance of weighing our words (and thoughts) carefully, and join with David in asking God to "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3).
Psalm 31:17, suggests that if we spend our time calling upon the Lord, we will have no reason to be ashamed. We should deal with envy, jealousy, discontentment, etc., in the Presence of the Lord. If we settle such matters with Him, they will not spill over into words from our mouths. Proverbs 11 continues along the same theme and says that "a man of understanding holds his peace". (I like to make this more personal by reading it as: "a woman of understanding holds her peace".) And, verse 13 also has to do with the mouth and talks about talebearers revealing secrets, but "(she) who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter". As believers, how we live and what we say can be traced back to either our relationship with God or lack thereof. When I want to gossip about somebody, I need to go to a private place and talk to God about why I feel the need to tear down or tarnish the character of "my Father's servant".
If I see myself as accountable to God, I will spend more time before Him dealing with my own stuff! I will get the beam out of my own eye, before becoming focused on the "splinter" in my neighbor's eye (Matthew 7:3-5). If I deal with myself before God as much as is needed, I will have little time to complain or to be concerned about what someone else is doing. The Pharisees were never portrayed as being concerned with their own sins, they were always focused on someone other than themselves. The disciples, in Mark 10, did not have the mind of Christ in regards to little children. How much more does this remind us of the many areas where we also lack the mind of Christ. Too often, rather than address these issues before the Lord, we do the very thing the man did in Mark 10:22. Jesus answered his question about what he should do to have eternal life. Jesus knew his heart. He told him to sell what he had and give it to the poor. Rather than dealing with these issues, the man went away sorrowful. We do not know whether he ever came to the place where he could deal with his love for his possessions over his desire for eternal life.
May I be convicted by today's study, to deal with my own issues on my knees before the Lord for as long as it takes--until I am "transformed by the renewing of (my) mind" (Romans 12:2); and before my issues spill over into my speech in the form of complaints and accusations that are heard by the Lord and by others. May I grow in the knowledge that God loves me more than I can ever understand in this life, and that He only desires what is in my best interest. He will hear my cries to "create in me a clean heart" (Psalm 51:10).
I John 1:9, says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". I will never be found "perfect" in this life, however, I want to be able to say with David, and in the Presence of Jehovah: "My soul follows hard after You: Your right hand upholds me" (Psalm 63:8)!
No comments:
Post a Comment