The other day I was working with my youngest, and he had just gotten a mild reprimand for something that wasn’t entirely his fault. Normally this would send him into a tailspin, but today he handled it pretty well. No pouting. No arguing. He just sucked it up and tried to do the job right. I was proud of him, and I told him that is what it is to be mature. When we get in trouble, we don’t complain or be a sissy about it. We be a man. We suck it up and do our best to change what we need to and get the job done. Part of being a man is understanding that the job is more important than your feelings.
I woke up this morning with this situation on my mind. I realized that I don’t always practice what I preach to my boys. My Father, God, was giving me some of my own advice, “Hey Bear, are you doing what you ask of your boys? When you bump into difficult situations, do you give Me thanks for these situations; or do you pout, complain, rationalize, and problem-solve on your own?”
“Oh man, you got me there. I guess I have a blog idea now.” The reality for me is that most of the time I go through several cycles of pouting and problem-solving before I get to the “give thanks” part.
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
– Thessalonians 5:18
Here’s the thing. No matter how much complaining and problem-solving – controlling – feels right at first, it always leads to misery and sin. Eventually, complaining will put me in a foul mood that I will try to pass on to everyone else. “Good job, Bear!” Being in control and the one who has to solve all the problems only leads to self-glory when successful; and to self-blame and depression when it fails. Which it will, most of the time, because you can’t account for everything.
So why do we pout and complain? The short answer to this is because we feel that it is okay to do this. We have been told by our culture that if our situation is bad enough, it is okay to pout, complain, or wallow in our disappointment. If no one has ever told you this, let me say it again a little louder for the people in the back, “Pouting, complaining, and wallowing in our disappointment is not what we are called to do. That is not giving thanks in all things.”
What can you do? In 1 Peter 5:7, it says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” So rather than justify your complaints and foul mood, take it to Jesus. This advice is totally plagiarized from Pa. This is what I pray when I take it to Jesus, “Jesus, thank you for always taking care of me. Thank you for this situation. Help me to see what I am supposed to learn from this situation so that I am more like You, and help others to see who You are.” When we stop complaining, we start showing who Jesus is.
Every problem in my life is not an invitation by God to show off how good I am at taking care of my own problems. There is a fine line between being a good steward of the things God has given you and being the king of your life. So, if we know that God wants us to come to Him with everything, why do we try to solve things on our own?
First, we’ve been taught that if we don’t have anxiety and aren’t diligent in solving a problem, then we don’t really care. So, this is a lie straight from Satan. This is exactly what he told Eve after she ate the apple, “You are naked. You failed. Now you have to solve the problem, not go to God.” Guess what? They were still naked under those leaves.
Another reason we want to solve our own problems is because it puffs up our ego when we get credit for fixing the problem. I know that I do this, and it is so stupid. The main reason He puts struggles in my life is so that I learn to be more like Him, and I learn to rely on Him. Learning to rely on Him builds my trust in Him. In Psalms 34:8, it says, “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Again, here is my plagiarized prayer, “Jesus, thank you for this situation. I know that everything I have, including this situation, is Yours. Help me to find and see Your plan in this situation. Let this situation help me to trust You more.”
So, since I can say it no better than scripture, I will leave you with this:
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
– 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
.- Written by Jeremiah
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