June 7th, 2023 – Wednesday Evening
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing…” ~Philippians 2:14
This command and its implications (in following verses) strike at the heart of our sinful nature and identify one of the main reasons God is often not glorified in His Church (and therefore not by the surrounding culture). That may seem like a far-fetched statement, but let’s address the first part of it here (as this verse is simply the command) and worry about the rest of it in forthcoming devotionals.
There isn’t a lot of explaining that has to be done in regards to what the verse means: “Do” – act, make, perform, keep, do, etc.; “all things” – each, every, any, all, etc.; “without” – making no use of, having no association with, etc.; “grumbling” – murmuring, muttering, etc.; “or” – and, also, etc.; “disputing” – hesitation, doubting, etc. In other words, “Execute all the things you do (which, of course, are things in accordance with God’s truth, will, and way) in a way that is completely devoid of complaining or deliberation.”
That is a tall order. Have you ever gone a day where you always did what was right and good in God’s eyes at the very instant when you were commanded or prompted to do so? How about doing it all without even a thought of grumbling? We might argue that this is impossible, even for someone filled with the Spirit of God; yet, if God is really God and He really does indwell His children (which He does), is it not completely within the realm of who He calls us and empowers us to be by His grace?
If you are like me (and I know you are since you are also a human being :-), complaining is easy when our minds are on our work, our troubles, our hurts, our pains, our circumstances, and ourselves. Deliberating over obedience is a piece of cake when we are focused on the cost (our comfort, our pleasure, our reputation, our ability, etc.). Do you sense a theme here? Me, myself, and I are the three greatest threats to joyful and immediate obedience and the elevating of self over God – not the world, the devil, the government, the culture, the neighbors, the circumstances, the abilities or inabilities, or whoever and whatever.
So what do we do? First (and I speak for myself as chiefly needing these instructions), we must humbly remember the Lord and dwell in and on Him. Jesus said in John 15 that we can do nothing apart from Him; literally, you and I cannot not complain or hesitate to obey unless Jesus is in us and we are in Him. Also, when we remember the Lord, we remember His authority over everything and His absolute goodness; this allows us to rest in Him and His sovereignty, and it opens the door for His grace to enable us to obey. The second step is then possible: Obey. Be deliberate in doing all things without complaining or doubting; don’t wait until the next “big” thing comes along…start now! Don’t complain about the length of this devotional. Ha ha! Just kidding. This is a long one. 🙂 Nonetheless, we can and must begin now to obey this seemingly small, but exceedingly important command.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing. He is worthy of our all.