Posts Tagged ‘pleasant places’

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. Psalm 16:6

I’ve been a little whiney lately. Without my sister (who went to be with the Lord last year) Christmas wasn’t as much fun as it has been in the past. I got that nasty stomach virus, as did my husband, and my daughter, and both grandchildren, and my son-in-law. I feel unhealthy because of all the junk I have eaten. 2 degrees is too cold. My car doesn’t like to start in this weather,  and my body is either sweating to death or freezing all the time.

Mind you, I got to spend Christmas and New year’s with those I am closest to. I have never missed a meal because of famine or finances. My house has heat. No one in my house died from the flu. We pay our bills every month. And, I am blessed with a devoted husband.

Psalm 16:6 (above) is a verse I haven’t noticed much even though I have read it many times.  Then, at an evening meal, and several time since then, my husband started to pray it to the Lord, thanking Him for drawing the lines in pleasant places for us. I know it’s true, and we do have a beautiful inheritance through our faith in the Lord Jesus.

So, why do I complain about these inconsequential things? If I know that the Lord has drawn the lines for me in pleasant places, why do I whine so?  The answer, of course, is sin. When my comfort is shattered (or even slightly impinged), when I don’t seem to be getting my way, I get grumpy – not always –  but enough that I know it’s a problem, a spiritual problem.

I am privileged, because of my writing and speaking, to be in the Word of God every day. I spend a lot of time contemplating the lessons of scripture so I can teach them. My nose is frequently in a book about God and/or His Word. And still, I forget and whine about meaningless things.

The truth about God’s Word is in 2 Timothy  3:16-17, “ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” Obviously, then, there is great benefit in knowing, studying, and practicing what God’s word tells us to do. But, it is not a magic pill that once we get into it we will suddenly become perfect Christians.

Many people have a “quiet time” every day and call themselves Christians because if it. Some study and have even attended Bible classes –  but live like they have never read a word of it. Some pretend on Sunday mornings and at their places of employment that they are following the Word of God, they even know it and can recite it, but they treat their families poorly and fail to pass it to the next generation.  To the outside world they look like the lines have been drawn in pleasant places but their spouses don’t think so! We can read the Word and be real hypocrites.

I thought the easy answer to my whining was to get into the Word, maybe deeper this time. But knowing the Word is different from applying the Word.  Knowing it is a start; living it is the finish.

The truth is that I need to remember, not just the Word of God, but God Himself. Emmanuel, God with us, and to be thankful to Him. He came to save us from our sin – and He did it! Why am I not looking at the pleasant places that sacrifice has landed me rather than these minor inconveniences that really do not cause any great problems in my life.

Are you and I grateful for the pleasant places where God has drawn the lines for us? Could part of that “quiet-time” that we spend with God be better spent in Thanksgiving rather than mindless reading of a passage so we can check it off the list of things to do today?

If we believe that those lines are drawn for us in pleasant places, do we need to be more thankful and less whiney?