I am currently ill but please, don’t write your tearful emails of sympathy yet because its just a cold that I have. A nasty cold, admittedly, one which smothers my brain in cotton wool whilst slamming a hammer into my skull, one that tickles my throat and makes me breath heavily for long periods of time. But hardly life threatening.
Naturally my first instinct was, er, do exactly what I’ve just done and moan about it. Not only that but my debit card has been frozen so I can’t access my money until I get a new card in 5 days time. And because I’m feeling pretty rotten/infectious I missed CU and Small Group. In other words, I’ve spent much of today wallowing in a certain amount of self pity and if I’m being honest grumbling to myself about my predicament. And then I realised that what I was doing was wrong. Moaning, whining, grumbling, it never helps, rarely achieves anything and worse still it’s just so unchristian. Because if I had bothered to apply just a tiny fraction of my Biblical knowledge I would have realised that I was sinning against God. I was being a whiney git and in being one I was dishonouring God! Why? Well, God controls all things, he has complete sovereignty over the entire universe and that includes my life. My whole life has been planned by God, every single day, every single circumstance. Therefore, it was planned by God, before the universe was even created, that on 5th February 2010 I would have a bad cold and have my debit card frozen. So my complaining about this suddenly looked rather futile. But it’s more than that. I also know that God plans all things to the good of his people. As a Christian I have a promise that all things will work out to bring glory to God. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8 v 28 My cold today will work out for my good! My frozen debit card will teach me a lesson God wants me to learn. This leads on to the mind boggling conclusion that I should thank God for my cold and thank God for my frozen debit card! Because both events are doing me good on a spiritual level! But then I realised I was sinning in another way and that was by not remembering how good God has been to be in the past. Take my cold for example. The last time I had a cold was about 12 months ago barring a sniffle during Fresher’s week. I can’t remember the last time I was physically sick. I haven’t been to the doctors in 5 years and before that the last time I went was when I was inoculated aged 4. I’ve never had a serious illness or been in a serious accident. I go months and months in full health. My only allergy is an extremely mild form of hay fever and I had the temerity to grumble to God when I got a measly cold! I complained about the fact that I rarely get ill! My ungratefulness! Because it’s not as if it’s anything I’m doing. Sure I eat three fruit and veg a day (anything more is just showing off), sure I try and keep myself at an admittedly low level of fitness but I never sat down and ordered my body to be healthy. It’s not like I somehow deserved my good health. It is a gift from God that I take for granted far too often. Already this cold has done me the good of showing my just how good God is to me and how wretchedly ungrateful I am in return. And then I remembered the book of Job where Job, after losing his sons and daughters, his fortune and his good health, says: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1 v 21 Job said this fantastic statement of trust in the Lord when faced with the loss of his entire livelihood and family. I couldn’t even say it when faced with a pathetic cold and the loss of a debit card for 5 days. If you think your life is difficult, read Job, it certainly puts things in perspective. What next? Well, I had to pray and ask God to give me the faith and trust to say at all times “May the name of the Lord be blessed” I need to be constantly reminded that all good things are gifts from the Lord and that with them I should bless God and without them I should bless God. In all things then I need to bless God. For in all things God is good. Sometimes it will be easy, sometimes it will be hard. For all times only one thing ever needs be said. “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
1 Comment
guess whooo :-P
19/6/2010 02:15:41 pm
:O i did that the other day right I was well upset about something and i was thinking 'right I'm not gonna go to the prayer meeting I feel to rubbish and arghhh' but then I was like that's stupid that's not what God wants ..I'm just wallowing around in self pity it's wrong and it's not gonna help anything...so I went to the prayer meeting ..but what did I do...sat there with a grumpy face thinking 'grr my life is rubbish'..then my thoughts changed and I thought ok I shouldn't be doing this the least I can do is put on a cheerful face...but it was sooo hard I just wanted to sit there an moan to myself and God but in the end I half managed to change my face and guess what...by the end of the meeting God had given me so much 'food' and I was smiling without even trying! how great is our God man!!when we're such losers and don't even appreciate it!!
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