Where Will Complaining Get You?
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Devotion: Elisabeth Elliot
Book: Keep A Quiet Heart
When we were in Dallas for a visit, we were the
guests of our dear friend Nina Jean Obel. As we
sat one morning in her beautiful sunshiny yellow
and pale-green kitchen, she reminded us of how,
in the story in Deuteronomy 1, when the
Israelites were within fourteen days of the
Promised Land, they complained. Complaining was a
habit which had angered Moses, their leader, to
the point where he wished he were dead. "How can
I bear unaided the heavy burden you are to me,
and put up with your complaints?" he asked. They
headed for Horeb, but when they reached the hill
country of the Amorites they refused to believe
the promises and insisted on sending spies to see
what sort of a land it was. The spies came back
with a glowing report, but the people didn't
believe that either. Never mind the lovely fruit
the land offered. There were giants in the land;
they'd all be killed. There were huge
fortifications towering to the sky. How would
they ever conquer them?
It was the neurotic's attitude. No answer would
do. No solution offered was good enough. The
promises of God, the direction of Moses, the
report of the spies--all unacceptable. The people
had already made up their minds that they didn't
like anything God was doing. They "muttered
treason." They said the Lord hated them. He
brought them out only to have them wiped out by
the Amorites. O God, what a fate. O God, why do
you treat us this way? O God, how are we going to
get out of this? It's your fault. You hate us.
Moses hates us. Everything and everybody's
against us.
Nina Jean said she made up her mind that if
complaining was the reason God's people were
denied the privilege of entering Canaan, she was
going to quit it. She set herself a tough task:
absolutely no complaining for fourteen days. It
was a revelation to her--first, of how strong a
habit it had become, and second, of how different
the whole world looked when she did not complain.
I get the impression when I'm around Nina Jean
that the fourteen-day trial was enough to kick
the habit. I've never heard her complain.
It's not just the sunshine and the colors that
make her kitchen a nice place to be. It's that
Nina Jean is there. I'd like to create that sort
of climate for the people I'm around. I've set
myself the same task.
Note:
Nina Jean introduced us to the doctor in England that treated Patrick for over 10 years. What an amazing sister in Christ and true friend, and what an amazing part she played in our journey. Soon I will tell more of her story, but for now you get an idea of the depth of her. A major warrior in the journey.
She died several years ago. She was a true mentor to me, and I learned much from her. I think of her daily. Her Devotion and Obedience to the Lord, her unconditional love for others, and her very presence will continue to influence and stay with me till I see her again. I know she is another one of the saints "in the stands cheering us on"
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7
