PSALM 142:1-2 – With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.

THEME OF THE DAY. COMPLAIN TO THE LORD NOT OF THE LORD. Sometimes it is okay to complain. Really. It is. Yes, we know the Apostle Paul tells us “do all things without grumbling (complaining) and questioning” (Philippians 2:14). And reading the Old Testament book of Numbers, particularly chapters eleven through fourteen, we observe God is angry over a complaining people. He is not a little displeased. He is very upset with the murmuring and complaining about their circumstances Yet, there is a proper venting of oneself by complaining. It is found in today’s scripture. But notice how and what the complaining consists of. The Psalmist is complaining to the Lord, not of the Lord, and that makes all the difference between allowed by God complaining and sin against God complaining.

First, the proper, non-sinning complaining is directed to God, not complaining about what is happening in his life. The Psalmist is pouring out his heart in relationship to His God. Think about it. When we don’t know someone very well, maybe even first time meeting, are we prone to “spill our guts” to the individual with transparency and brutal honesty about troubles in our lives? No. But what about a spouse, a close brother or sister in the Lord? Of course. That is part of the intimacy in the relationships. We are free to “take the shoes off our hearts” and share with open frankness. By the way, one of the huge problems in the church of America today is we don’t have those type of Biblical relationships among believers. We are too private and individualistic in direct contrast to the Lord’s command in being His church. In the Psalmist’s complaint to the Lord, he is sharing his struggles, his troubles, and doing so because of his relationship with the Lord. And He longs for us to come to Him in our troubles, even our complaints, but that isn’t the same as the next form of complaining.

The sinful complaining we easily do is to look to God either by complaining words or a rebellious heart and basically complain about our circumstances, our situations, and our troubles. This is sinful because to complain of God is to attack His sovereignty. Any complaining of Him and the working out of His providence in our lives are signs of mistrust of His love, discontentment with His wisdom, and rebellion against His will. Here we are met with a God who is displeased with our complaining, not open to our sharing. Again, read Numbers eleven through fourteen soon to get God’s heart on His people who complain of their circumstances which is to complain of Him.

So, there is a good type of complaining and a sinful type of complaining. God accepts and welcomes our complaining to Him, but not of Him. Learn to distinguish between the two.

PRAYER: “Father, I am grateful that You not only know my heart but allow me to share mine.”

QUOTE: “Share your complaints to the Lord but don’t complain of His working in your life.”