Friday, May 22, 2015
Have you ever caught yourself complaining about something you should be extremely grateful for instead? If you say that you never have, I ask you to either pray for the other 99 percent of us, or else that the Lord may help you with your memory problem. Speaking of that, did you know that there are some poor souls out there who have forgotten they have a memory problem? It reminds me of the lady to accompanied her husband to a medical checkup and urged him to tell the doctor about his memory problem. He said, “Oh yeah doc, sometimes I forget things from one minute to the other. Have you ever heard of that?” The doctor replies, “Hmnn, how long have you had that problem?” The man responds, “What problem?” Okay, your groans are coming through loud and clear. Nevertheless, complaining about something we should be grateful for instead is as old as the Garden of Eden, when Adam basically complained to God that the one who made him fall into temptation was the wife that He gave him. As Pastor Solis has remarked in the past, I too believe that when Adam saw Eve for the first time, he said “Wow!” and was totally grateful to God for her. Though, next to God, she was the best thing to happen to him, now he was complaining about her.
Following the accounts of David’s life, it is pretty clear he caught himself making this mistake many times. One such indication is found in Psalm 142 where he confessed pouring out his complaint to God in verse 2. In verse 4, he complained in part that no one cared for him. That obviously could not be true because there were many who loved him and cared about his well-being, especially his faithful followers who were at his side at the time. If he had been more careful, he would have thanked the Lord instead for those who were on his side. I don’t have the information at hand, but if the book of Psalms is in perfect chronological order, David seemingly forgot the advice he himself had penned in Psalm 103:2, which is: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” He even listed some of His benefits immediately after this verse. They are, among many other things: forgiveness of sins, healing, redemption, love, compassion, spiritual renewal, and justice for the oppressed. I would invite you to read this favorite psalm of many as often as you can; it will do you much good.
The reason I was reminded of this careless blunder we all commit from time to time is because I recently heard a man say that he complained to a good friend about the problems he was going through with his wife and children. His friend replied, “Gee, I wish I had a wife and children!” Do you see the picture? Keep this in mind next time you complain about your wife, children, boss, job, or even your church or pastor. In the end, I trust you will see that you are much better off for having than not having them in your life.
Memory verse for the week: (Matthew 6:33 KJV) “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
