chaos

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Set aside complaint? Are you KIDDING me? I have a lot to complain about Lord! I mean, look at what’s happened in the last few months! I am not supposed to complain about it? I am about to burst at the seams with complaints!! It like that time when you had a mouth full of pop or something, and you are just about to burst out laughing?! It wants to come out!! But, you are telling me to set aside complaint and put on a smile. Set aside complaint and change my expression. That’s a tall order!

I kind of feel like Job in my life over the last two months, in particular. But you know, he never complained, even though he lost family, home, possessions, friends, cattle…everything! So when God gave me this picture yesterday and the scripture to go with it, I guess I was supposed to “get” this message! I pondered these thoughts for a while, giving myself time to understand what God was telling me. Here are a few thoughts:

It doesn’t ever do any good to complain really.
It doesn’t make me feel any better.
It doesn’t change the situation.
It doesn’t make those around us feel any better.
It doesn’t honor God either.

Job had to trust God even though all he saw was chaos. I am choosing to do the same. I tell Him out loud several times a day just to remind myself. I think He likes to hear that!

So this morning as my eyes didn’t want to open to the chaos, I thought I would check my messages on my phone. There was a text that the appraiser had finally submitted his appraisal to our lender! Today was to be the day we were to close on the new house. Now I can choose to complain that he made us have to wait another week, or I can be thankful that it is in. I choose to be thankful it is finally submitted. I won’t say I haven’t complained. Hear me out. I am saying, that God has gently reminded me not to. I will move forward one more step and believe that we can close on the third of June as planned when we signed the extension. I pray for the sellers of our new house, that they continue to be patient with us in something that was entirely not of our doing. AND…I rest in God’s promise to restore what has been taken.

If you are dealing with a difficult situation, I won’t say ignore it, or that you don’t have the right to be angry. That isn’t practical. There is a place for anger. But I will encourage you to set aside complaint. We can’t change what we don’t have power over. But we do have power to change what CAN be changed. In my case, ME and my thoughts. Do that. Change what needs to be changed, so that, you can begin living the life God has planned for you. Live the “tests” in life well. As we have heard before, you can’t have a testimony without the test.

In school we couldn’t take a test over because of a bad grade. We had to prepare ahead to enable us to get that good grade. In this instance, with God we CAN have do-overs. We can turn our life around! We can set aside complaint and put on a smile or happy expression. Not because what is happening to us is ok, but because we know that God will restore what has been taken from us, if we will be faithful! Stay the course. Stand! May God help you to that end.

Walking the journey with you…