God heard the prophet, and he can handle our complaints, too

By Dean Collins

Go ahead and complain. God can handle it, and in the process you might gain insight and experience some relief. 

I will confess I don’t really enjoy being around complainers. They drain me. Constant complaining isn’t helpful or healthy, but expressing your complaints at the right time and in the right place can be both psychologically healthy and spiritually honest. We have many examples in Scripture of spiritual giants who at certain times let God know their complaints.

Life is often complicated and hard. There are moments and seasons in everyone’s life when things don’t go the way we planned. Sometimes we are criticized, lied about, or treated unjustly. Nowhere in Scripture are we told that during our lifetime on earth, everything will go smoothly and all will be peaceful and easy if we love God and follow Jesus. The Bible is filled with characters who loved God and followed him obediently yet experienced great suffering and were often treated harshly.

Tough assignment

Jeremiah is a prime example of a prophet who was given a very long and tough assignment. His own people judged him harshly and unfairly while he obeyed God and spoke truth to everyone from the kings to the paupers. In Jeremiah 12, we find a good example of Jeremiah, though obedient to God, honestly pouring out his complaint:

“Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? “

Eugene Peterson’s translation may resonate with you as it does with me: “You are right, O God, and you set things right. I can’t argue with that. But I do have some questions: Why do bad people have it so good? Why do con artists make it big?“

Why is it that bad people seem to prosper? Why do con artists seem to thrive and get away with selfishness and worse, evil? Jeremiah puts his questions before the Lord. He had complaints about how the lives of those not following God were often easier than his life as he obediently served. 

Honest questions

As Jeremiah expressed his complaints and asked his questions, he was transparent about his thoughts and feelings. Ignoring or trying to hide our thoughts and emotions can have a horrible effect on our health. It is not wise simply to blurt out your frustrations publicly, but it is appropriate, even necessary that we give ourselves permission to follow the example of Jeremiah, David, and many others in letting God hear our pain. God can handle our thoughts and our emotions and is always willing to hear our complaints and questions. Honesty with God can bring new levels of connection in our relationship with him.

As Jeremiah poured out his complaint, God gave him a few things to consider. God had questions of Jeremiah as well. Communication with God, prayer, is a two-way street.

Here’s what God asked Jeremiah: “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?”

In other words, if you can’t keep up with the assignment you have now, how will you manage to handle what is coming? I suppose you have noticed that God often uses our experiences of suffering, difficulty, and struggle to strengthen us and prepare us for how he will use us to bring victory in a future situation.

Building endurance

I was a runner for 30 or more years. I wasn’t the fastest but held my own in races. Nowadays, keeping up with most runners on foot would be impossible. I certainly could never keep pace with a racehorse. I don’t think God’s point to Jeremiah is “Buck up because it’s just going to get harder, so you better train more.” Maybe God is saying that when things get harder, our dependence on him becomes greater. And when we depend on God instead of our own abilities, God develops in us endurance that equips us to finish our race.

James tells us that the testing of our faith brings us steadfastness and through the process of our spiritual transformation we have everything we need. 

So go ahead and let your complaints be known to God. He will listen, understand, and guide us no matter how impossible our situations might seem.

Father, in times of difficulty and crisis we become discouraged and worn out. We surrender our weakness to you. We do not understand our suffering but trust that you will produce a depth of faithfulness in us as we walk with you through it all. We trust that in you we are more than conquerors. Wetrust you to complete your perfect work in us and guide us to victory over whatever is ahead.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your time with God’s Word
Jeremiah‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬; Jeremiah‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭MSG‬‬; James‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‭‭

Photo by alexskopje at istockphoto.com.
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