Neither Grumbling Nor Denying

Pause:

Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus. 

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother: To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge. In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Going Deeper:

The COVID-19 epidemic has brought about so much disappointment these days, it can seem that there are endless reasons to be frustrated or anxious as things we love are cancelled or are uncertain. How are followers of Jesus to respond to such a fire hose of negative news that never seems to run out of water?

For many of us we find ourselves just focusing on what is going poorly. People in this space are not a real treat to hang out with! Full of cynicism,  bitterness and what the Bible calls “grumbling.” We see no hope, and we let everyone who asks know it!

On the other end of the spectrum are some of us who can’t hardly ever admit anything is that bad. People in this space can never really accept that hard things are happening nor are they able to fully acknowledge their own powerful negative emotions. These people are often in denial.

So which is the right response to bad news or hard situations?

The answer is neither grumbling nor denial.

We shouldn’t pretend bad things aren’t happening, nor should we assume that such bad things are ultimate as if we are people who have no hope.

Instead we can courageously wade into the hard news of the day because the hard news isn’t the final or ultimate news, the Gospel is.

The Gospel empowers us to not just see what we don’t have; it allows us to be present enough to be grateful for what we do have.

We can “forget where we came from spiritually” and lose sight of what we actually deserve.

The truth is you and I deserve judgment and eternal “isolation” from God’s presence.

But the Gospel says we have been brought into the Father’s house and that through Jesus he has sanitized our souls.

And in light of that we no longer have what we deserve, we are ALWAYS better off than we deserve even on our worst days.

The Gospel allows us to become a people who can be truly present.

In Jesus, we can become people who no longer need to wallow in guilt or regret from our past, neither do we need to  live in constant anxiety about what the future holds.

We can be present right here, right now.

And we can live lives of gratitude.

You see in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he is addressing a church that seems to have so many bad things going on.

They are a divided church, a church full of sexual sin (a guy is sleeping with his father’s wife), people are getting drunk at communion, taking advantage of the poor. It’s also a church where people are misusing their spiritual gifts in awkward, confusing ways and on top of all of that, they are denying the resurrection of Jesus!

It makes your church look pretty good, doesn’t it?

There is a lot that Paul could grumble about as a leader here, but he doesn’t. Take a closer look at how he starts his letter to this dysfunctional church:

“I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge.”

You see, Paul begins this letter off with gratitude. He doesn’t grumble. He also is not in denial. (We know this because he is about to correct them on a whole host of their issues!) 

Sure there is a lot that was wrong with that church, and Paul was going to have to deal with it as a leader. But as he courageously engaged those realities, he did so from a place of gratitude.

Yes, there is much that is wrong in our world and our lives right now, but if we slow down long enough and are truly present to God and ourselves, I think you will see that there is much that is right as well.

What has God given you that is “more than you deserve” on this side of the Gospel?

• A family
• Amazing friends
• A sunset
• A tasty meal
• Any Food at all
• A beautiful song

I want to encourage you to take some time today to count your blessings.

While there is much that is not as it should be, where are their “evidences of grace” in your life? What can you still be thankful for?

Take time and thank the Father for the blessings that you are aware of and see how it impacts you, the people you are in quarantine with and those you interact with online.

Pray:

Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.

Listen:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you today?

Apply:

What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?