Just a Moment…

He hit me between the eyes. Paul David Tripp did it again. In his book, New Morning Mercies – a Daily Gospel Devotional, he writes, “Every day of your life you will find reasons to complain and every day of your life you will have reasons to be thankful … What is your default language? Do you find it easier to complain than to give thanks? … Are you easily irritated and quickly impatient? Do mundane things get under your skin?”  Ouch. Too close to home.  He continues, “If you have placed yourself in the center of your world … if it really is all about you, then you will live with an entitled, ‘I deserve ______’ attitude, and because you do you will have a constant reason to complain … you will be all too conscious of how you feel, so you will grumble your way through life.”

 Paul concludes, “This is where corporate worship helps profoundly. The regular gathering of God’s people for worship serves to shift your meditation from complaint to gratitude reminding you of who you really are and confronting you with the beautiful and faithful mercy of God towards you. As the gospel puts you in your place, it also puts praise in your mouth, and that is a very good thing.”

 My mother-in-law gave me a beautiful reminder of living a life of contentment by a British clergyman some 130 years ago.  Rules for contentment: 1. Allow yourself to complain of nothing, not even the weather. 2. Do not imagine yourself to be somewhere other than where you are. 3. Do not compare your situation with that of anyone else. 4. Never allow yourself to dwell on wishing this or that. 5. Never dwell on tomorrow. Remind yourself that tomorrow is in God’s hands, not yours.