The Lord has blessed us with such beautiful weather this past week! A couple weeks ago, the weather was quite the opposite. I learned an important lesson that day and thought I would share it with you all....
It was another cold, gloomy morning. The sun, hidden behind the clouds, hadn't shown its face much at all the past couple days. The rain seemed like it was never ending. When would the sun shine again?
I sat, eating my breakfast, looking out at the dark clouds, which seemed to prophecy of coming rain. It was beginning to drizzle outside when I heard a bell ringing at the door. I looked over and saw my dog, Boo signaling (by ringing the bell) that he had to go outside for a bathroom break.
I grumbled as I got out of my chair and walked over to where Boo was waiting.
"You just had to wait until it started raining, didn't you?" I asked my dog.
Obviously, my dog didn't answer back, so I continued putting his leash on. By the time we got outside, it was pouring. Or at least, that's what it seemed like to me.
As Boo walked around, sniffing for the best spot, I continued to complain.
"Why is it always raining? Is it ever going to be nice weather here? It's so cold out here! Why is Boo taking so long?"
I continued to think these miserable thoughts, until I heard something....something that changed the ugly mindset I had had that morning.
What I heard was not a magnificent or extraordinary noise, but a simple, yet beautiful one.
The sound I heard was a bird singing. I have heard a bird sing many times. The melodious little tunes from these small creatures are one of the first sounds to greet spring and one of the last to wish us farewell before the start of winter. Yet, this tune was different to me; different because this bird was singing through the rain.
Even though the weather was gloomy and rainy, this little bird had such joy about something that he felt the need to sing. This bird was not just chirping or squawking. This little bird was joyfully singing.
In the mental bog of despair I had been drowning in, the bird's sweet melody was like swimming in a clear pool; refreshing and inspiring. Now I know it was just a singing bird. But when I heard it begin to sing, I thought to myself, "Why on earth would a bird want to sing in weather like this? What does he have to sing about?"
Then a thought struck me. How many times in the past week had I been "singing through the rain" or small trials of my life? Certain memories flooded my mind of the past week; the dishes that had been done, the pile of laundry that was ironed, etc. Through all these different chores, had I had the joy of the Lord or was I grumbling my way through each one? Unfortunately, many times the latter had been the case.
As I stood there thinking about all this, another question popped into my head. Do I have the right to be angry because of something as minute as the weather?
Then it hit me. I am a daughter of the King of Kings, saved and sealed by the precious blood of the Son of God, and I am complaining about the weather, which God has set to be as it is! What an awful slap in the face of Almighty God! Even if every possible disease racked my body and every disaster befell me, if nothing good ever happened to me, yet I had the assurance that I was eternally saved and my countless sins forgiven in the sight of my Creator, I should never want for joy, never lack in the privilege of exulting in my Redeemer. However, I have been blessed so abundantly that to be miserable over the weather is pure selfishness and one of the sins that nailed my beloved Savior to the cross.
A familiar verse came to mind as I stood pondering over all this.
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe."
~Philippians 2:14-15
This is such a challenging verse! Paul is not saying that we need to work hard at not complaining or that we shouldn't complain most of the time. He says we need to do EVERYTHING without complaining!
So, I challenge you, as well as myself, to examine your lives to discover how much you complain. Now, I know you might be thinking that you don't complain much. That is exactly what I thought before I began examining my life.
Here's a practical way to glorify God, even when you are beginning to think negatively. Let me tell you though, if you want to be successful in this practice, you need to continually commit this to the Lord. Ask for His help, because without Him, we can do nothing that would be valuable or bring glory to Him.
Before you begin your day, ask the Lord to help you examine all your thoughts, words, and actions in light of His Word. As you go through your day, try to notice every time you begin to think, say, or do something negative. Stop what you're thinking, saying, or doing and reverse it into a positive. Let me give you two examples. I will use the story from above. Let's say that I had the opportunity to replay that morning. I would have or should have looked something like this.
I sat, eating my breakfast, looking out at the dark clouds, which seemed to prophecy of coming rain. It was beginning to drizzle outside when I heard a bell ringing at the door. I looked over and saw my dog, Boo signaling (by ringing the bell) that he had to go outside for a bathroom break.
I grumbled as I got out of my chair...ok stop! As my thoughts turn negative and I begin to grumble/complain, I should instead think of how I can turn the situation into a positive one, a situation that I can praise the Lord. Since I was complaining because I didn't want to take my dog out, here is a list of thoughts that would have turned the negative situation into a positive one.
"I can be thankful because I have been blessed to own a dog! Many people would love a dog, but don't get the opportunity."
"I can be thankful because I am able to take the dog out instead of him going in the house. I am very blessed to have a house-trained dog!"
"I can be thankful because I am able to stand, walk over, and take my dog outside. Some people are paralyzed and are not able to walk."
Then, when I was taking Boo outside, I should have changed this thought process:
As Boo walked around, sniffing for the best spot, I continued to complain.
"Why is it always raining? Is it ever going to be nice weather here? It's so cold out here! Why is Boo taking so long?"
Instead, I should have turned these complaints into thanksgiving to God! Here are some thoughts that I could have used.
"I can be thankful that it is not raining any harder than it actually is."
"I can be thankful that the "bad" weather we're experiencing is only rain and not a hurricane, hail, or snow!"
"I can be thankful that I don't live in a state that is always dry. The rain helps grow the plants, trees, and other foliage."
The list could go on and on. This is one example of turning a weakness into a strength. Every time you begin to think negatively, you can turn that thought around and use it to praise God for what He has blessed you with! Over time, this practice will just become a habit!
So, I challenge you this week to examine your thinking as well as your words and use them all for the glory of God! I challenge you to sing through the rain....
