“Once you empty something, you must fill it with something else.”

A though by James MacDonald (2015-06-18) from his book, Lord, Change My Attitude: Before It's Too Late (p. 49). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

In this chapter, James has been dealing with the problems of having a complaining attitude. He shows how God dealt with the children of Israel in the Old Testament and the wilderness they had to live in because of their complaining and of how he does the same today.

He says, “Even in this day of grace, God’s fire still consumes in judgment. He judges a complaining attitude as surely as He judged the people of Israel in the desert. But, for now, God’s fire doesn’t consume our existence; it scorches our happiness. God’s fire consumes all that is fresh and healthy and life-giving in our lives. And life becomes a wilderness. Those who choose complaining as their lifestyle will spend their lifetimes in the wilderness.”

But you and I don’t have to live there. We need to replace it.

He shares, “Jesus gave a chilling warning about the fate of someone who had a demon expelled but didn’t fill the house with God’s Spirit (Matthew 12: 43– 45). The demon returned with friends and made the man’s life worse than before! When we set out to replace a bad attitude, we need to pray and then put a good attitude in its place. You can’t simply put off bad habits and live in a vacuum; you have to put on good ones in their place.”

He deals with replacing it in detail in the next chapter but he gives some questions to help get us started:

“1. Am I a complainer? I challenge you to begin to pray from your heart, ‘God, am I a complainer?’ Complaining is so hard to see in ourselves, especially when it’s reached the habit stage…

2. Am I reaping the consequences of complaining in my relationship with God? Is that the problem? Imagine that God whispered into your heart right now, ‘I’m listening. I’m listening. I hear everything you say. I hear every thought you think— all of it.’ Would that shed a new light on the landscape of your life?...

3. Am I willing to repent? Am I willing to turn from that attitude of complaining, acknowledge its wrongness, and ask God to change my attitude?”

We need to be honest and acknowledge that it is a problem and then ask God to forgive us and then to help us change direction and quit.

So are you wanting to enjoy your life again?

Comments

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Just Continue That Thought...

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