Grumbling to praising!
Verse for Today: Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Psalms 19:14 – May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer!
Bitter experiences in life make us sometimes utter words which are not pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Out of frustration and distress, we sometimes pronounce words of vengeance or negative thoughts. Instead of trusting in God and thinking about positive outcomes out of our bitter experiences, we utter words of hopelessness. David knew the possibility of such thoughts and words creeping into his life and so he prayed that his speech and meditations be pleasing to the Lord. Jacob uttered such negative and bitter words of depression and distress as he learned about the loss of Joseph. At one time, Elijah got so frustrated and fearful as to utter words of hopelessness. Moses who had very discouraging words coming out of his mouth a few times due to the heavy burdens he carried for the Lord. Gideon asked as to why he and his people had to go through bitterest attacks from the enemy. Yes, it is possible that words and meditations come from us which do not please God. But God doesn’t desire such negative thinking on our part. He wants us to put our faith in Him and His promises and think positively. We are instructed by Paul to think on sublime thoughts. Negative thoughts emerge in our hearts and speeches as a result of our impatient reaction to the bitter circumstances and situations that we go through. But in such situations, God wants us to have positive thinking and pleasant meditations on the character and promises of God who would see us through our difficult situations. If we learn to praise God even for difficulties, it would prevent us from grumbling. Our praises will please our God who will continue to fill us with faith and trust in Him.
Dear friend, have the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart been at times less than been pleasing to God? Have you been grumbling rather than praising God for all the situations that He takes you through? But even when your thoughts are negative, your Lord is working and walking ahead of you and preparing your way forward. When you are hungry, He is preparing your meals for tomorrow. When you are sick, He is bringing wholeness to your body and mind in its own pace. When you are unemployed, He is preparing work and an organization which will best fit your needs and it will take a few days for you to reach there. When you are friendless, He is your best friend and He finds new friends for you whom He will direct to you. If you are under attack, He has already commanded His angels to watch over you. If you are going through failure, He is preparing your life to enjoy success and newer accomplishments for Him. It takes time for you to be ready and prepared to see God’s answers for your situations as He teaches you patience and maturity. It is not a time to get frustrated, but to grow in patience to be able to see what God is doing in your life and for you. During the waiting period, He wants you to meditate on all that He has promised to do for you in the future and praise Him for it all. David knew this well as he prayed for God to direct his words and meditations to be pleasing to Him in favorable and unfavorable situations. Today we can also surrender our thoughts and words to God and ask Him to make it pleasing to Him. Let us praise our God for all that is happening in our lives and meditate on how He will work it all together for our joy and His glory.
Psalms 139:23 – Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Thought for Today
When we dwell in God’s presence and meditate on His character, we will be filled with positive thoughts that will please Him.
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