The proof of adoption (Part II)

“The proof of adoption” Part II  Philippians 2: 12 – 15)

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings:” Nothing takes the shine off a good employee than to have them start murmuring and disputing with me. It becomes an issue that I seek to resolve quickly. A discontented employee can effect the overall morale of a company and if I am not able to resolve the problem ( most of the time I can) then that employee’s time with me is limited. The same thing happens on a social basis. When we murmur and dispute no one really wants to be around us. A negative person just takes the life out of a day and the day is hard enough as it is. This attitude not only effects our social life but our personal lives as well. We become a lead weight to our family. Proverbs in 27:15 says, “ A continual dripping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”  And this is not just true of women, but of men as well. It doesn’t take long before our list of friends becomes limited to just three people, me,myself and I.

The word for murmur in the Greek is “Gogguzo.” It is considered an onomtapoeic word, meaning the word sounds like what it is defining. When we are discontent we grumble in a low indiscreet voice, like the rumbling of our stomach when we ate something that didn’t agree with us, such is this word. “Disputings” as defined by Webster’s Dictionary is the action part of murmuring. It is when you take your discontent to the next level becoming vocal and speaking back to your employer, manager and or spouse. And it’s worse in the home. It can become an escalating problem that if not dealt with early can lead to job termination or to divorce.

What is really a tragedy is that it doesn’t have to happen. When we set our eyes and heart on the things of this world to make us happy, be it our spouses, our jobs or something other than the Lord, we are setting ourselves up to be disappointed. It is not my spouses job to make me happy, nor is my job suppose to fulfill me. It’s great when are relationships are on track and  we enjoy our jobs, but people are human and bad days come and go and the job at times can be a hassle. Nothing is perfect and to seek to get our identity and sense of purpose from earthly things is to make a serious mistake. So then how are we supposed to be? The sun is a great analogy for this. It is self energizing as God has made it to be, as He himself is. As He is continually loving, kind, forgiving etc., the early morning sun is continually warming all that it touches though it be 92.95 million miles away! To abide in the sun’s rays is to experience it’s  warmth and to abide in Christ is to experience His love and to be changed by it. Our abiding in Him keeps us from seeking approval, identity or love from other people who are just as much in need of God’s love as we are. To be fulfilled by the Lord not only completes us but It allows us to enjoy our jobs and not make work an idol. In doing life right we become His ambassadors, able to give out love and warm just as He does.

A couple Vidas pass I wrote how my disappointments were God’s appointments to bring me closer to Him. From the drowning of my brother and taking personal blame for it, to the disappointments in my career; working for boss’s that only knew how to yell. The road that I have travelled would not have been the one I would have chosen for myself. Much of my life direction has been the result of my responsibility to provide for my family and circumstances bending me this way or that way.  Not  so much and “open road” where I had choice. These same disappointments are lived out through the pages of scripture. Moses,  40 years prince of Egypt, then 40 years a sheepherder, an occupation that the Egyptians  despised ( that must have been really tough on his ego), to the final 40 years of leading Israel. Then there’s David, a rising star in the Israel army. A commander of men at around 21 years of age until the people began to praise David more than King Saul. Now because of Saul’s jealousies he became an outcast, a runaway, hiding in caves and living in enemy territory. One time to escape death from an enemy King he had to pretend  to be insane.  And Saul who became Paul the apostle, spent  three years in the desert unlearning everything he was taught and relearning it via the Holy Spirit. He who was once viewed as the next High Priest, a most coveted position ( this is my opinion) became nothing, in fact he was worse than nothing in the eyes of his Jewish contemporaries who now believed he should be stoned to death.

However, what did God do through and because of these disappointments? How did these disappointments become God’s appointment for them? I can go on to talk about Ruth the Moabites, a group of people that were not ” chosen” yet because of Ruth’s very honorable character she became wife to Boaz baring him a son who was grandfather to King David, the blood line of Jesus our Messiah. And Sarah, barren most of her life and Rachal also barren until God gave them a son. What did God do through the pain and disappointment that these women experienced? You may be in a season of disappointments, but how big is your God?

Therefore let us “Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

When we receive trials and hardship without complaining or becoming offended, thinking we are ” entitled” to a better life, we “

When we maintain hope because we look to a life that is not just limited to this life, we are living a life that is worth takening note of. To truly say “

is to finally enter into what it means to be a Christ follower.

Father God,

Thank you for this devotional. There has been much written about being content, both from a secular point of view and a Godly point of view. Yet the truth lies with You alone. Therefore  let my life be a simple life, were I walk with and commune with You as a son with a Father or as a daughter with a Father. If I was not granted a physical example of that in my life, let me perceive it supernaturally. Thank you and Amen