If engineers could find a way to record your inner dialogue, would they discover a thrilling symphony of praise, or would they be confronted with the crackling buzz & warble of grumbling? Grumbling, left unchecked, drowns out all other inner noise. Soon enough you don’t even notice it. Instead of hearing it as an alarm, warning you of a discontented heart, it simply becomes white-noise.
Time & again God’s Word narrates grievous moments in Scriptural history when inner & outer grumbling brought about great disaster. A prominent instance of this was shortly after the Hebrews’ deliverance from Pharaoh. Within a few days of leaving Egypt, there they were grumbling. God had just nuked the world’s super-power. In place of praise, they were muttering and murmuring about needing onions for their stew.
Inner grumbling is the result of thinking far too highly of yourself. You think you’re the sun of the solar system. You think you’re hot stuff. You think the world should bend over backwards for you, and pay obeisance to your every whim.
A habitual grumble will poison the sweet, darken the light, strangle the song, and dampen the joy. The severe danger in allowing this grumble to go on is that this sin is ever-eager to replace praise. Instead of rendering praise to God for all the unlooked for blessings which He hides around every corner, the grumbler finds flaws and faults and failures in everything & everyone. The Grumbler wants everything perfectly ordered to his liking.
You are called however, as a child of God, to find in all circumstances a reason to praise your God. You are not the author of providence, after all. So, no muttering about the weather, your lack of sleep, the faults of your spouse or kids, or the lack of onions.
Prayer of Confession
Father God,
You are worthy of praise and adoration, for all Your abundant goodness towards us. We deserve none of these blessings, but You give us all of it. You give heaping spoonfuls of kindness. Yet, due to remaining corruption in us, we grumble, and mutter, and gripe about the circumstances which in Your providence You have specially chosen for our good and Your glory. Forgive us for this counterfeit for praise. All of our grumblings, small or great, flow from thinking too highly of ourselves and low thoughts of You. Open our eyes that we might see Your delivering, Right Hand, our Lord Jesus, and by Him may You drive out all our grumbling fusses. Grant us grace, so that our inner man might be filled with sweet praise, instead of the static & crackle of complaining.
In Christ’s merciful name, Amen.
Leave a Reply