GRRRumbler’s Heart
Musings from the Garden
By Peggy Wyar
If you notice the misspelling of the title of this blog, be at peace. It was done purposefully. GRRR can often be the sound made when our heart of dissatisfaction shows its’ ugly colors. Before I unpack this I wanted to share a definition my friend found on the internet before she taught about this topic.
Definition of grumbling: A faithless complaint or murmuring, very often expressing dissatisfaction with God’s provision, authority or timing.
She also shared this very rich scripture about why we should not grumble.
Philippians 2:14-16 NIV
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.”
Have you ever considered that grumbling reveals a heart dissatisfied with how God is running your little place in the world? We can say we trust Him, but the minute we hit a hard or uncomfortable situation we complain and murmur that He’s not fair. When we are called to a ministry of service but experience obstacles in how we think the service should be done, we often whine and moan about how this couldn’t have been what God intended. We secretly were convinced our plan was better, and our ugly attitude shows everyone involved that we ultimately believed we were the one meant to be in charge.
How we deceive ourselves if we think that grumbling can accomplish anything of value! If we sincerely want to be seen as the children of God - blameless and pure and without fault - we ought to consider how our grumbling and arguing impede our testimony.
I think most of us have experienced grumblers at work or in a check out line at the store. Their negativity and bellyaching can ignite the atmosphere with unrest and defeat. We, as believers of Jesus, are part of a different kingdom, the kingdom of light. We can shine like stars if we “hold firmly to the Word of life”. By refraining from joining with them in their grousing, and by carefully choosing words that are life-giving, we can bring a change to the situation. But our hearts must first be tethered to God in such a way that we trust His provision, we submit to His right to rule, and we believe His timing is perfect.
Can you see that grumbling is merely a symptom of where our hearts may be resting? Are we trusting God in every situation? Are we okay with our plans getting derailed or rearranged? Do we know that God is able to initiate and complete His purposes and plans in spite of the evil of this world? Is there anything too difficult for our God?
As we consider my friend’s definition of grumbling, we have a choice. We can choose to to be faithless and grumble on, or we can believe by faith that God is who He says He is and He will do what His Word says He will do. Our hearts can be at rest. We can rest in the perfectly finished provision of our redemption through the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We can be assured that He is seated in the Heavens on His throne of grace. We can trust He is intimately acquainted with each of us and able to take care of all our needs as we cry out to Him. Why should we worry or fret or be anxious? Our God reigns forever (which is a lot longer than we will be on this earth putting up with this warped and crooked generation).
I pray you live in peace.
Romans 8:5-6 TLB “Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the Holy Spirit find themselves doing those things that please God. Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death”