Thursday, July 19, 2012

30 Day Challenge: Day 8 Do You Want Some Cheese With That Whine?

The Challenge for Day 8 is to make a list of the things you've been whining about recently. Unfortunately, this was not a challenge for me. I've been praying confessing my sin to the Lord and to a few others who are close to me and what I have been learning through all of this is to be content. I already have more than I will ever need in Jesus. 1 John 2:17 says, "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever," (ESV). I have been greatly convicted of my need to fix my eyes on Jesus and make it my aim to please Him. Here is my unjustified list of complaints:

  • Not having benefits or full time hours at work (I do have a job at which I am working 37.5 hours a week and I did get a generous raise, but for some reason my wicked heart is not satisfied).
  • Still living at home (I do have a home filled with family and more than I could ever ask for, but once again this is not enough).
  • Not having a husband . . . or even a hint of one (I do have Jesus, but for some reason my heart says I need more. Shouldn't the love of Jesus be enough?)
Yep, this is very embarrassing and I really hope that someone besides me is able to learn from my sin . . . that's what discontentment is after all, just downright, ugly sin. It's not a "weakness" it's not just an area that needs improvement, it's deceptive sin. This doesn't mean I just fix myself and I'm good to go. I've learned that pulling myself up by my bootstraps leads to me falling flat on my face. I need to depend on Jesus and Him alone. I was blessed to hear our junior high youth pastor Jimmy preach last night from 1 John 2:15-17. He reminded us that sin leaves us feeling empty and we seek to fill the void with more sin.The problem with this is that we become stuck in a vicious cycle of sin and depend on ourselves instead of actively depending on Christ. What areas of your life are you complaining about? Jesus loves to hear our prayers and know our hearts, but He isn't the Complaint Department. 
So, how can we rely on Him to fix our hearts? 
There are a few ways:
  1. Put on the whole armor of God.
  2. Memorize scripture. Psalm 119:11 says, " I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you," (ESV). When we memorize scripture, we will be able to combat the lies of our sin with truth. Let's face it, as holy as we think we are, no one sits in front of the Bible for 24 hours. We are faced with many situations throughout the day in which we aren't able to open the Word for encouragement. If we memorize scripture we are arming ourselves with truth and are better prepared for the battle with our sin.
  3. Ask Him to reveal to us our hearts. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (ESV).  If we remember that our hearts are primarily deceiving us, we will desire to test our hearts and ensure that we are serving the Lord with our motivation being to glorify Him. 2 Corinthians 13:5 commands, "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (ESV).
Now it's your turn. 
I challenge you to consider what areas of your life you are complaining about. 
Instead of  trying to improve on your own, turn to Jesus.
If you haven't already, confess your sin to the Lord, knowing that He is ready and willing to forgive you
 and has already paid for your past, present and future sin with what He accomplished on the cross!

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
1 John 1: 9 ESV

Love,
Lolo

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