Don't Be a Grumbler

        When we went to Spain as missionaries, our mission board required us to have prayer cards that would remind the people who we were, where we were going and what we would be doing. It was to include a pertinent verse of Scripture. We chose the passage from Second Corinthians that is the subject for today's devotion. It was the result of a lesson that I heard in school about the “Cycle of Grace.” This passage has always been important in my life, not because we stuck it on our prayer cards, but because it stated what my mission statement is right now, today. Second Corinthians 4:5-6 says, “ For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

          It was brought to my attention years ago that there are three different words, “grace, joy, and thanksgiving” that have a connection in the life of every believer. The three words mentioned above are similar in spelling even in the Greek from charis, chara to eucharist. The professor stated how it was a “cycle of grace.” It all begins when God does something marvelous in your life through His grace. In our “joy” we share that with other people and state how God has blessed us in a certain situation leading the hearer to respond in “thanksgiving back to God.” Thus, we see a cycle of grace happening day after day after day in the lives of each and every believer. The above passage speaks about each believer as being a “reflector” of the “Light” that has shone in our hearts. Our hearts then become the reflector that shines in the lives of others causing them to eventually praise God. Second Corinthians 4:15 goes on to say, “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.” That is the cycle of grace. The amazing part of this is that it is taking place everyday in your life and in my life. There is, at the same time, the possibility of someone breaking the cycle especially when their lives become filled with bitterness and who seem to be blind to what God is doing. God has not left us alone to fend for ourselves even in the midst of the problems that you face today and will face tomorrow. God fills the smallest of needs up to the greatest of needs. Sometimes, we don't see how He is going to do it, but He always does. I have been a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ for over 40 years and God has never failed me one day. He has always provided even when I was wringing my hands in anxiety. The Israelites were often labeled as being grumblers because the would often forget what God had done for them just a few days ago. Sad to say, we can be much the same but God is working in your life and He has a message for each and everyone of us. Don't be a grumbler today, but praise God for His wonderful blessings.