Monday, October 18, 2021

Whiners

 


We can be whiners.  Really, sometimes we just sound like little kids, “You don’t love me.  Nobody cares about me!”  Things aren’t happening on our timetable, in our way and we just poke out our lip out and mope.  We’re part of a long line of complainers.  Way back 2,800 years ago, the people of Jerusalem were moaning about their plight. God had a gentle but direct response then, and it applies as much to us today as it did to them.

 

Isaiah 40:28 - Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.

 

Things to think about:

·       For some reason, we as humans tend to focus on what we don’t have or what’s not going right instead of the other way around.

·       Is. 40:27 – “Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God’?”

·       Think about a time when God felt distant from you.  Can you empathize with Israelites? Are there areas in your life where God seems more plugged in and others where He might feel more distant?

o   Family

o   Finances

o   Physical

o   Something else

·       Does God ever “disregard our cause”?

o   Psalm 139:7-10 - Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

o   Romans 8:34 – “Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

o   Not only is Jesus interceding for us, He told us in John 14:16, “and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever…”

·       “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”

o   Well, that’s good that He doesn’t get tired, but what about us???

·       This passage you can probably quote –

o   Is. 40: 29-31 – “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”

o   In typical God fashion, He does the work for us. 

§  Are you weary? Are you tired?

§  Do you think maybe God has looked the other way from your challenges?

§  The Lord doesn’t diminish what you’re trying to deal with, rather He does what you can’t do for yourself.

·       God hasn’t forgotten you.  He sees and cares about what’s going on in your life.

·       He just asks that you put your hope in Him and He will give you the strength to stumble through.

o   No, not stumble through, but to SOAR.

1 comment:

  1. The beauty of our Creator is that He hits the bull's eye of destiny every single time He throws that dart out. As I seek to be intentional in this serendipitous journey toward eternity, it becomes clearer than ever that I must avoid the noise of our generation. Silence and solitude are truly the primary pursuit of the soul. IN being still, we know the God of Creation, and find the keys to productive rest.

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