A LESSON FROM THE MASTER TEACHER

I have heard and witnessed a lot of complaining, griping and murmuring in my lifetime. I suppose I was guilty of much of the same thing before I invited Jesus into my life and made the decision to follow Him. The devil wants us to complain and murmur about anything in our lives because it tends to quench and smother any real belief or faith in God. The Scriptures teach that we should not grumble, complain or murmur about our lot in life. The Scriptures also teach that the words that we speak are very  important, whether they be negative or positive. The Scriptures teach that we shall be held accountable for the words that we speak. There is power, sometimes life and sometimes death, sometimes blessing, in the words that we speak. Sometimes we bring condemnation upon ourselves with the things that we say. The following is an account of a small incident that happened in my life. The incident is small but the lessons to be learned by it are large and this lesson is still fresh in my mind after many years.

I had  been a Christian for only a couple of years but my walk and journey with the Lord had already taken me through many interesting and sometimes amazing events. I knew from reading and studying the word of God that complaining or murmuring about things was not only harmful to the spiritual life but was a sin that needed to be confessed to the Lord in order to receive forgiveness. Many unpleasant  things happen to all of us whether we are Christians or not. The difference is that the child of God can look at all these happenings with faith, even though they may be difficult, unpleasant, painful or temporarily sorrowful. The word of God teaches that truth in the book of Romans.
 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28 NIV.  Another truth from the book of Psalms states, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it"
Psalm 118:24 NIV.        

At the same time that I was enjoying many wonderful, great experiences of being a born again, Christian child of God, I was also going through some tough times in my natural life including a family breakup, loss of job, and very little money. Money had moved from the occasional friend status to being almost a total stranger. I could move all my earthly possessions in one trip with a borrowed automobile. I bought an old car from a friend for a ridiculously low price but I had several problems with it. I had flat tires in abundance, one after the other, two or three a week. I couldn't understand it. I didn't have the money to buy new tires so I would pick up used ones for a couple of dollars each, but the flat tires continued. Those were very trying experiences, one after the other. One night I walked out of church and the car was not in the parking space where I had left it. That brings on a very odd feeling. The police found the car the next day on the other side of town and I still don't know what happened.

One day my old car just up and quit entirely. It wouldn't start and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it and I knew that I was going to have to walk wherever I went. I remember looking at the old car and saying with some feelings of anger and resentment, something like this, "Well, with the way my luck has been going, something will probably happen to my feet now." I knew better than to say something like that but the words just spilled out from my feelings of frustration and resentment. The feelings, attitudes and words were all wrong and there is no such thing as luck, where the child of God is concerned.

The next day something developed in the bottom of one of my feet and it became extremely sore and painful so that I limped with each step on that foot. I don't know what it was but it hurt something awful every time I tried to walk and place any weight on it. The pain would seem to throb through my whole foot if I forgot and put my weight upon it. It was very difficult to walk while favoring one foot in such a way and I know that I must have looked quite strange to people as I walked to work or to church. I remembered the feelings of anger and resentment and the words that I had spoken. I was sorry from the very beginning that I had complained and griped about the car situation. The remorse for the feelings of anger, resentment and the words that I had spoken, was as hard on me as the pain from the foot. I asked the Lord, in Jesus name, to forgive me for murmuring and complaining and I knew that He forgave me and cleansed my heart.  "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" 
 1 John 1:7  NIV

You might think that the foot would have been instantly healed when I asked the Lord for forgiveness and cleansing but it wasn't. It remained extremely sore and tender with each step and it lasted for at least two weeks. Let me tell you, I learned a lesson from the Master Teacher, and as I walked, sometimes I would say, "Praise the Lord" with each limp and I would smile because I knew that the Lord was teaching me something. He was teaching me, in a way that I would remember, that I should not gripe and complain about my circumstances in life. He also taught me that my words are powerful and to use them wisely. One morning I woke up and when I got out of bed I found that my foot was not sore anymore. I rejoice to this day when I look back on those events. I had learned a lesson, taught by the greatest teacher who has ever walked on the face of this earth, and I thank Him for it. Praise the Name of Jesus.

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Hebrews 12:5-6  NIV

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  Hebrews 4:12  KJV

And that's the way it was that day, on Pilgrim Jim's Journey.
Jim Clark

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