No More Complaining

[therebelprophet]

Hi everyone, I'm back. At least for now, anyway. It's been four years since I've posted here and I've stayed away for good reason. Got a sound and well-deserved tongue-lashing last time I posted here. But that is done now and I'm on a new mission. No. More. Complaining. Being a Christian is not something that I do, but something that I AM. No matter how I try to escape it, mask it, parade it through the darkest corners of my existence trying to extinguish it...still it perseveres. The God Who Won't Let Go or Give Up On Me. It seems to me as I write this that I am tapping into something else entirely; something that doesn't come out of my mouth, but out of my fingertips. In the day-to-day I am confused, frustrated, and overall, just plain lost. Like a blind man groping about in the darkness of an unfamiliar place. But here I have clarity of thought, clarity of vision and purpose. Even if I can't figure out what my next step is tomorrow, I know who my God is and I can write about it until my fingers bleed even when I cannot even open my mouth to pray.

Is that fake? Why is it so much easier for me to type what I know to be true than to say it? I feel false when I talk about God, like I'm just sick of hearing about it and sick of talking about it, or like I'm talking about something that's not God at all. I am on a new journey with Him, one that I have over and again wrestled with and lost. (Still wrestling a bit, though, to be honest.) I want to be genuine. To have hope that I feel in every fiber of my being. To feel the joy of the Lord like I did when I was "on a mission". I can do stuff that's crazy and casts me off from my friends and family, but I cannot get up early in the morning to pray or to read the Bible. And when I do read it, the words are exhausting, like eating dog food.

But I am hopeful! I feel invigorated being here again and talking about Him and what He is and who He is! It is so very, very comforting to see familiar usernames again, people that made a lasting impression on me at least strong enough that I remember their names! I hope that I find what I'm looking for. I think I will. It will probably be in a brown paper bag when I'm expecting like, a decorated cedar-chest or something, but I'm sure I'll find it. Can't give up. No more complaining. Any thoughts? Words of encouragement? I'm glad to be here again. I feel fresh and alive for the first time in ages. I needed this so badly. I'll wait for your replies. Thank you.

 

[Razare]

I liked complaining, but then it dawned on me, I would complain in a circle and end up exactly where I started.

Then I also believed it was completely unnecessary.

When the Israelites were in the desert and complaining of water and food. They had gone 3 days without water when they complained. They were going to die if they did not get water. God blessed them anyway, but what if they didn't complain?

They could have asked in faith. "God, would you get us some water, please?"

Also, they could have just waited and trusted God and risked death.

Both of these seem far better to me than complaining.

 

[tturt]

Hi rebelprophet, good to see you again.

Isn't Yahweh just amazing in the way He teaches us? Know that some don't think He communicates like this but I've found He does = "Got a sound and well-deserved tongue-lashing last time I posted here."

I've wondered, why "rebelprophet?"

Posted "The God Who Won't Let Go or Give Up On Me." Agree that He's faithful.

The joy of The Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10), "Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart." (Psa 32:11).

Looking forward to seeing you here again.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Cool (you sound inspired)... find the gold in the midst of all the rubbish ... to do that, it is good to seek to help others rather than to be helped.

 

[therebelprophet]

Hi rebelprophet, good to see you again.

Isn't Yahweh just amazing in the way He teaches us? Know that some don't think He communicates like this but I've found He does = "Got a sound and well-deserved tongue-lashing last time I posted here."

I've wondered, why "rebelprophet?"

Posted "The God Who Won't Let Go or Give Up On Me." Agree that He's faithful.

The joy of The Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10), "Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart." (Psa 32:11).

Looking forward to seeing you here again.

Thank you. I don't recognize your username. It's been 4-5 years since I posted here, perhaps you had a different name then? Rebel Prophet is from an old home-study seminary book that I found in my father's library. The author stated that calling Jeremiah "The Weeping Prophet" is inaccurate and that the moniker "The Rebel Prophet" suits him better because he rebelled against the people and the king of Israel when they were rebelling against God and continued to proclaim the messages that he was given even though he was threatened with death and worse.

 

[therebelprophet]

I liked complaining, but then it dawned on me, I would complain in a circle and end up exactly where I started.

Then I also believed it was completely unnecessary.

When the Israelites were in the desert and complaining of water and food. They had gone 3 days without water when they complained. They were going to die if they did not get water. God blessed them anyway, but what if they didn't complain?

They could have asked in faith. "God, would you get us some water, please?"

Also, they could have just waited and trusted God and risked death.

Both of these seem far better to me than complaining.

This reminds me of an exercise that I learned when I was a summer camp counselor. First, you put down a long rope, probably 20 feet or so. Then, you get everyone to divide into two groups of equal number and stand on opposite sides of the rope facing each other. If there is an odd number then the leader of the exercise partners with the odd man out. Everyone who is paired up across the rope crosses their wrists and holds each others' opposite hands in a fireman's grab. The instructions are simple: "When the whistle blows, your objective is to get to the other side of the rope BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!" The inevitable questions come up quickly, how long do we have, do we really mean by ANY means necessary, and do we mean that EVERYONE is trying to get to the other side of the rope. No required time to get it done, yes by ANY means necessary, and yes EVERYONE. The whistle blows and the rope becomes a battleground.

There are some obvious mismatches, 15 year old football player vs 14 year old girl who is half his size. These are usually conceded pretty quickly. Lots of pushing and shoving, tempers flaring as the defeated decry how unfair it is and sometimes there are a few who are still pushing and shoving after 30 seconds or so...doesn't take long for everything to be decided. The camp counselor blows the whistle again and after everyone calms down they see one pair standing still, completely unmoved. Whether it's a pair of campers in an even group or the counselor and the odd man out makes no difference; once everyone is gathered around the pair the counselor says, "Okay. Now," and just like that the two people step sideways over the line onto the other side with one foot and then finish their turning with another step and end up exactly opposite of where they just were. Jaws drop. Faces are palmed. Foreheads are smacked. And a lesson that sticks is learned. There is absolutely no reason why two people with the exact same goal cannot both reach that goal together.

So while the Israelites were pushing and shoving to get what they wanted from God, they didn't realize that God had the exact same goal and that all they had to do was cross the rope together. Humbling.

 

[tturt]

tturt has been/is my username.

rebelprophet, thanks for the response and it's interesting.