Complaining and Singing

September 12, 2007 in Worship

Often, when a customer at work asks me how it’s going, I respond, “I can’t complain.”

Well today I could. Not about anything major, but more about little annoyances.

That’s when, sometimes, the Bible makes it hard to write my blog post(s). Because I can think of at least half a dozen thing to complain about right now, and I could easily write, at length, on any one of them.

Then, I remember that God through Paul tells us “Do all things without grumbling or complaining”, and I know enough about hermeneutics to understand that “all things” includes blogging.

Dang.

So, instead I’m going to share one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible, which I read today, as part of the reading plan which I started September 1 (along with about 20 other folks). Today in Psalm 13, I read this verse:

    I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully

with me.

A few years ago, in the midst of a trial, I read this verse for the first time. After reading it, I literally sang through the song, making a tune up as I went along, singing and praying for trust in God’s bountiful dealing with me.

This whole Psalm (13) is a lament. David, four times, cries “How long?!” Then, at the end of his anguished writing, he says that God has dealt bountifully with him — and that because of this he will sing praises. Sounds a lot like Job.

It’s a good reminder — that complaining does not befit a Christian, because of the bounty of God’s blessings. As a Christian, I must not complain. I must sing.