Skip to main content

Complaining, Blasphemy and the Glory of God

Today hasn't been a good day. It’s been one of “those” days. There have been many things on my mind. Things that have been pushed back for a while, but need to be faced at some point. On top of that, we are all especially impatient and grumpy. The kids have been fighting non-stop about the tiniest things and I've been counting down the hours until bedtime for hours already. In fact, at this point, EVERYTHING that the kids say and do is rubbing me the wrong way and I would give anything for a quiet, uninterrupted 20 minutes to myself.

And in my frustration, as I focus on all that has to be done, all that is happening in my home and around me that seems unfair and maddening, I’m reminded of something that I read yesterday:

“You would be very ashamed if you knew what the experiences you call setbacks, upheavals, pointless disturbances, and tedious annoyances really are. You would realize that your complaints about them are nothing more nor less than blasphemies – though that never occurs to you. Nothing happens to you except by the will of God, and yet beloved children curse it because they do not know it for what it is.”
~Jean Pierre de Caussade

Wow! I am so convicted by this. NOTHING happens except by the will of God – something that I believe and say all of the time, and yet I also complain all of the time even knowing this!

Every time that I complain about my circumstances, about what has or hasn't been done to me, about my children driving me crazy or about my lack of accomplishments, I am blaspheming. I know that sounds harsh, but I looked up blasphemy and this is what it means: the action or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things.

Life is sacred. God’s will is sacred. This gift of family is sacred. Every time that I complain, I’m am in essence saying that God doesn't know what He is doing and that I am unhappy with the life He has given me – and with His plans for my life in general. Even when I speak badly of myself, I am committing this sin.


And so, nothing circumstantially has changed. The kids are still hard at it and I still feel like crying my eyes out, but inside my heart is a little bit of growth – a little bit of a new perspective. It’s hard to change my patterns, but I want to only let things come out of my mouth that will “build others up and give grace to those who hear” (Eph  4:29) so that I can glorify God with my trust in His perfect will. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's not all about me.

Have you ever had an idea - a brilliant, creative or thoughtful idea that seemed both perfect and timely? Have you ever told that idea to one other person before you had the chance to act on it and the next thing you know it's in motion, but not in your name? There you stand on the sidelines, watching as everyone celebrates your idea and as that one person you shared it with seems to have forgotten where it originated from. It's pretty miserable. I know. It happens to me often! Have you ever rolled out of bed in the morning with no desire to get your kids up, dressed and fed? Is the last thing that you want to do to wash another sink full of dishes that you didn't dirty or to drop everything to take your son to the toilet for the thirteenth time or to spend hours on another supper that will be gobbled up in minutes or to wrangle (what feels like) a million kids down the aisles of the grocery store? Do you have someone in your life who rubs you the wrong way? Maybe the...
2 comments
Read more

The Unexpected.

  Have you experienced the shock of the unexpected? I have. In a second, in a phone call, and in the short words of a text, my stomach has been a stone within me. That moment when I’ve not known where my toddler is; those shaky words spoken over the miles, “It’s cancer”; that angry red discovered weeks into a pregnancy; that splash in the pool – each one has delivered the sickening feeling of shock. This past weekend we experienced one of these unexpected events which has proven to rattle me more than I would have anticipated. Here I’ve been, skipping along through spring, feeling the weight of fog lifted a little and WHAM! There it is. Right out of nowhere - the unexpected. First came the anger. Like David I find myself pleading, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?”. (Psalm 13) When is enough enough? Have I done something wrong? Have I not been obedient or trusting enough? How much adversity can we bear up under? But God is so good. He’s so kind to me. When I,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Undivided hearts

Yesterday, our pastor preached an excellent sermon on 2 Chronicles 14-16. It was about having an undivided heart and finishing as well as you start out. One verse in particular has been running through my mind ever since - 2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” Pastor Kim asked, “What is dividing your heart? Your attention?” Wow! About a million things. But seriously, there truly are a myriad of things running through my mind at any given moment. Even as he preached I had to use a great amount of self-control not to dwell on how smoothly the song service had gone, the fact that Aiden was likely driving his teacher crazy somewhere in the church, the possibility of Josh shooting another deer while I was sitting here, the events that I had planned for the week and how great so-and-so’s scarf was. Sad, right? And that’s just the little stuff. How many hours do I spend worrying? How o...
2 comments
Read more