Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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Grumbling

Inner Crackle & Buzz

Inner Crackle & Buzz

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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.

What Ingredient to Leave Out of the Thanksgiving Meal

What Ingredient to Leave Out of the Thanksgiving Meal

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Are you known for being content? Or is your inner life a long trail of grumbles muttered under your breath? We too often think of contentment as being the result of some math equation. Subtract all the nasty stuff from all the good stuff, if the answer is positive than––tada––we’re content; but if it’s negative we have good reason for the grumps.

But contentment isn’t a math equation of weighing our various circumstances. It isn’t a philosophical height that can be gained by walking through enough zen gardens. It isn’t a physical achievement which can be found by contorting into the right yoga pose.  It’s a result of grace in the heart. Without grace, nothing is ever sufficient to bring about contentment.

By grace, prisons become cathedrals. Bitter waters become sweet. Trials become times of thanksgiving. Chains become musical instruments for praise. Blessings aren’t taken for granted. Joys aren’t presumptuously enjoyed. Grace shapes our heart like clay into a vessel overflowing with gratitude for all things––whether hard or easy––which the Father brings into our life.

However, as one pastor remarked, “Discontent adds greatly to the burden of living.” It makes the weights heavier, the gloom darker, the burdens more cumbersome. The blessings are never bright enough. There’s fault to be found in everything from the seraphim to the salamander. At its root, discontentment arises from a graceless heart. A heart which has deceived itself into thinking it’s the sun at the center of the solar system.

Discontentment makes the turkey dry, the gravy bland, and the pies dull. Worse yet, it makes the fellowship frigid, the conversation barbed, and the relationships strained. Contentment, on the other hand, can make a meager meal a feast, it can make enemies into friends, it can turn hardships into joys. It does this because it is rooted in the fact that God is on the throne.

Israel murmured in the wilderness, and were we in that company, we’d have likely done exactly the same. If you’ve found yourself murmuring, turn to the Lord in repentance for all your complaining, muttering, grumbling, and discontentment with everything and everyone. Further, if you peel back one more layer, you’ll find you’ve been masking your complaints in all sorts of excuses as to why your complaining is justified. All such grumbling and discontent comes from a heart which thinks it is god. This is idolatry, and is the root of ungodliness. But as the Apostle Paul taught, godliness with contentment is great gain. Which means, when we receive grace to be godly, along with it comes the trust that the Lord will supply all your needs, in all circumstances, all for His glory.

Ben Zornes