My Grumbling Heart….

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Graeme Wilson in Victory Call

Oh, I have known it for a while…I complain.  I don’t want to be a complainer but in reality, I am.
There is a circumstance in our lives that I want to be different.  (Can you identify?)  Overall – it is a great blessing but it has its downsides. It seems those are what I focus on. Not only do I spend too much time focused on the downsides – I talk about them enough so in the end others focus on them too.
[For any of you under the mistaken notion that I have my act all together – I believe I have categorically dispelled that illusion.]

I know the Scriptures:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing (i) … Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.(ii)  … be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”(iii)  …But godliness with contentment is great gain, (iv)

I know the negative feelings I have when I focus on the downsides rather than the upsides.

Then one evening, as I read my new favorite devotional, I read this statement:  “The contented heart is satisfied with the Giver and is therefore freed from craving the next gift.” (v)

ZING! Right to my heart.

My situation with the upsides and the downsides is part of God’s plan in my life to accomplish His purpose for His glory.  There is more to this than just the situation; it is far more about my walk with God and my contented heart born of my knowledge of, relationship with and love for… the GIVER.

“A heart that is content, more given to worship than demand and more given to the joy of gratitude than the anxiety of want.” (vi)

How about you?  Can you step back and see your situations with the upsides and the downsides as part of God’s plan in your life to accomplish His purpose for His glory and your good?

Blessings, Diane
i Philippians 4:11
ii Phil 4:11
iiiHebrews 13:5
iv 1 Timothy 6:6
v Paul David Tripp – New Morning Mercies – January 6
vi Paul David Tripp – New Morning Mercies – January 6

Diane Hunt is part of the Development and Addiction Recovery teams at America’s Keswick. In addition to being a Biblical Counselor, she is a Women’s speaker for retreats, conferences and events. She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study. She has been married to her husband John for 30 years. She has 2 adult children, 4 grandchildren, 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 11 in all. She delights in reading and teaching, but mostly in laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.