Bring Your Complaints
Notes
Transcript
We ask “isn’t complaining wrong?”
We believe that complaining is what we do, when despair wracks our soul, and all hope is lost.
We believe complaining is what we do when we believe God has wronged us in some way.
If it was attributing wrong to God then I would agree it would be wrong.
But do all things go the way you expect in your life all the time?
Haven’t you ever burnt a meal, and brought that disappointment to whoever would listen?
Complaining is expressing our dissatisfaction about something. An expression that say, something in the world isn’t right, something in our lives isn’t what we expected.
It is okay to bring a complaint to God.
Realize that, there are entire songs in scripture that are complaints that the people were to sing together.
That is cooperate complaining.
If you believe you have the right to be angry at God, and you attribute evil to God, then you are going to far.
But while we see things as falling apart, God see’s it as all things falling into place. For all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose, and He makes all things work according to the counsel of His will.
Complaining is part of the lament process for us to move through the pain, and allow us to see the glory of His redemptive plan.
If Peter would have allowed himself to be overcome by the guilt from betraying Jesus. If the story would have ended at the cross, then Peter’s story would be dark and depressing indeed.
But after 3 days, the story of the messiah continued; and Jesus rose victorious from the grave.
Don’t let the suffering you experience hold you to the day of the “cross.” Lament, (and complaining is part of lament) gets us through those 3 days, so we see the glory of the resurrection.
Without lament, people fall into one of two camps people fall into while suffering.
Anger
People become embittered against God, they hate God.
They stop going to church, stop reading their bibles, want nothing to do with God.
Denial
They tell you everything is fine.
They paint on a happy face and believe that if they act okay, eventually they will be okay.
We must find a proper way to work through the pain.
Both of these are damaging in their own way.
We must find a right way to work through the pain.
Psalm 10
Bring Your Questions
Bring Your Questions
God gives us permission to come to him with questions.
v.1
Think of this for a minute.
The Psalmist is wrestling with the feeling of the absence of God.
Suffering is difficult...but suffering without purpose, or suffering that is un-tethered and out of control. That is worse.
We’ve had times where we feel the presence of God, we know God is leading us.
Then we have the disasters in our lives, our reaction is “God, where were you?”
Have you felt it?
Your aren’t the only one.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
Lord, we are perishing, don’t you care?
The ship is going down, and you are far from us.
You are hiding yourself, when we are in trouble.
If you feel like God is absent when you are suffering, you aren’t alone in that feeling.
God put it in His word so we would see that others have felt it too.
But God hasn’t left us. He will never leave you or forsake you.
We feel like we are faithless when we complain, but God in His holy word has given us permission to.
As a way to verbally process, and move through our pain towards Christ.
This is the beauty of lament.
If we are angry.
We become bitter against God, we won’t work through the pain.
If we are stoic
If we believe it is unfaithful to voice our concerns, we put on a strong face, bottle up the pain, and we don’t process through it.
Questions in lament began a work of renewal in the life of the Psalmist, and they will begin a work in us.
Bring Your Frustrations
Bring Your Frustrations
v.2-11
Have you ever been in the midst of sorrow, in the middle of utter problems. Then you look around at non-believers, and their lives are great, no problems.
Does anyone else feel the frustration!
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
The psalmist is looking at the wicked, and is envious because they don’t have the same pain as Him.
In Psalm 10,
They are setting up schemes, and stealing peoples money through it.
They are prosperous, and arrogant about it.
If people oppose them, they have them removed.
Have you felt it?
Had your identity stolen, and your bank account cleared out.
You work hard, only to see your smooth talking coworker who doesn’t do his job get the promotion you wanted.
You tried to be healthy and now your body is failing you, while someone who mistreated their body is doing just fine.
You see people who don’t want kids keep getting pregnant. Meanwhile you’ve been trying to have kids but are plagued by infertility or miscarriage.
You have a friend who doesn’t appreciate their spouse, and you would give anything to have that companionship. Or maybe you had a love, and God brought them home.
We all have pain. If it is stewing within you, bring it to God!
God loves us, and wants us to talk to Him!
What He doesn’t want is our frustration to set up a barrier between us and Him.
How To Complain the Right Way
How To Complain the Right Way
Yes, their is a right way to complain.
Like I said, complaining is good. Accusing God, or attributing Him evil, is bad.
Rules for complaining correctly.
Come Humble
Come Humble
All over scripture we see the plight of the proud.
Don’t become like them.
A proud heart believes you are owed something from God.
This means you view God as your equal, or worse yet a servant who needs to bend to your will.
This attitude will never be able to lament.
When Jesus calmed the storm:
And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
Jesus was able to calm the storm.
Then he chastised them for not believing in Him through the storm.
Don’t be someone who thinks you know better than God.
They were afraid.
They saw the power of God on display before them.
It is a marvelous, awe inspiring and humbling thing to see the power of God.
Don’t become arrogant, believing you have the right to command the one who commands the storm.
Pray the Bible
Pray the Bible
Use the word’s of God to help you pray.
Let them guide you.
In sorrow
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
In fear
O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me........But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
In grief
But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
At injustice
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.
There is something special and freeing when we use the words that God himself has given us.
Not in a mystical way
But the fact that you are using a tool that the creator of heaven and earth has given you.
Be Honest
Be Honest
The entire point of lamenting is to be open and honest before God. Being honest about our pain so that we can work through it and draw nearer to God.
How marvelous it is that we have a God who understands us!
Hebrews 4:15-16
Hebrews 4:15-16
Jesus knows the pain that you are experiencing.
He understands and stress.
Come to Him, and be honest with Him about your pain.
Don’t Just Complain
Don’t Just Complain
Sometimes we get so focused on ourselves, and our complaints, that we believe it is the end in and of itself.
The point of lament isn’t to blow off some steam.
The point is to move towards God.
v.16-18
v.16
Remembering and realizing that Christ is king.
v.17
As king, He is not unaware of the oppressed.
He is the one who is near to us, who does listen and hear our prayers.
He is the one, who puts courage in our hearts to face the day.
v.18
The fatherless, those who were extreme cases of helplessness.
Draw near to Him, for he brings justice and goodness.
