Daily Manna 9 January
MEMORY VERSE: “Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?” (Jeremiah 12:1).
READ: JEREMIAH 12:1-6
Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You;
Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?
2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;
They grow, yes, they bear fruit.
You are near in their mouth
But far from their [a]mind.
3 But You, O Lord, know me;
You have seen me,
And You have tested my heart toward You.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
And prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4 How long will the land mourn,
And the herbs of every field wither?
The beasts and birds are consumed,
For the wickedness of those who dwell there,
Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”
5 “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,
Then how can you contend with horses?
And if in the land of peace,
In which you trusted, they wearied you,
Then how will you do in the [b]floodplain of the Jordan?
6 For even your brothers, the house of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you;
Yes, they have called [c]a multitude after you.
Do not believe them,
Even though they speak [d]smooth words to you.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
It was William A. Ward who said “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails”. Jeremiah was complaining to God in our text about the continued prosperity and apparent fruitfulness of those that do evil, even while they continued in their wickedness. This makes those who live righteously and serve God think there is no profit in their righteousness.
Jeremiah also complained about the impact and devastation of the environment by wicked people. Fields are plundered and violence is done to animals to such inhuman extent that everyone feels unsafe; yet Jeremiah saw no immediate consequence for their actions. God asked Jeremiah to stop complaining, concentrate on his preaching and adjust his sails because things would grow worse in the future. We can neither advance the cause of the gospel nor improve our lives through our complaints. And quite frankly, our complaints tend to limit our growth and adventurous spirit – a gift given to us by God.
When Adam found himself in the Garden of Eden, there was no bank or existing industry for him to seek employment. He was simply to put his creative and adventurous spirit into the management of the resources available to him and generate value thereby. We should concentrate on the task at hand rather than complain about the boisterous winds. Complaining about the poor handling of the economy and the failures of the government, the moral decadence of the age and the general state of things will not improve anything.
Let us put the time we spend complaining into better use. Let us channel our energy and resources towards the propagation of the gospel, which has the potential to change and transform sinners. We can only advance when we leave the shores of complaints to a new destiny of discovery.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Complaints have zero spiritual value.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: GENESIS 26 – 28
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Stop Complaining!- by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 9 January 2021
