Grieving the Spirit

Hi Everyone,  

I am writing today about God’s correction as it pertains to our annoyances and complaints.  We can be easily annoyed by others and their habits and complain about it.  And in our complaining,  others can become easily annoyed by us and this begins a conflict.  Whatever we do, we are to do for the glory of God, but unfortunately, things do not always go that way, especially when our feelings about a matter are strong and grounded on what we consider right and wrong.  I have three visions that the Lord gave me concerning this common problem.

The Visions

The Large Cardboard Box

In this vision, I saw a large cardboard box that was heavy and filled to capacity fall from a height and land with a loud crash.

A Man and a Frisbee

Next I saw a man wearing an afro hairstyle, black shorts and a black tank top walk across the grass.  A frisbee flew through the air, passed me on the right, and went directly to him.  He caught it perfectly without any thought or hesitation.

Water Dripping

I saw water dripping from above and falling directly in front of me.

What the Visions Mean

The visions convey a message of rebuke or correction.   When the Lord corrects us, he is not harsh, but he certainly makes his point.

The Cardboard Box 

I believe that the cardboard box represents possessions that are stored, for safe-keeping or for future use.  The need for storage of all types of possessions is universal.  We are constantly buying, acquiring and dealing with our possessions.  By this vision, the Lord is asking me to look at a problem that has annoyed me for some time.  

My husband and I live in a small apartment, but we came from a large house.  Because of my insistence we were able to pare down our possessions to fit into the small apartment.  But two years ago we purchased a tiny trailer, and suddenly we are bursting at the seams with tools, paint, equipment, and accessories for renovating, camping and traveling.  Now, things have gotten out of hand, and we have no room to move.

The Lord warned me long ago that buying and even looking at campers was a “foolish idea.”  Well, now I am reaping what my heart had sowed.  Now we have too many items taking up floor space, closet space and wall space.  I have no visual peace because of all the random items that are taking over our apartment.  The cardboard box in the vision fell with a loud crash.  It may be that the plans that we make, and possessions we have will suddenly come to an end. Who really knows what the future holds, except God alone.

The burden of these items is only a part of the problem.  Since my husband has retired, we have accumulated even more items. Everything that had been stored at the office is now in our apartment. And with my sewing and his hobby of fixing appliances, we seem to be living in a warehouse, and packed to the gills.

What amazes me is that no one seems to be bothered by the clutter except me.  Before coming to New Jersey, I was an interior designer for 20 years in Chicago. And I have over the course of years become a minimalist, so clutter and disorganization really get to me.  I see possessions differently than most people. I take more pleasure in getting rid of something than purchasing something and I look at everything in numbers of cubic inches.  I simply want nothing more than what is absolutely necessary.  I only need two knives, two skillets and two pots.  My entire wardrobe fits in six small drawers and on two  hangers. I have no pictures on the walls and we eat and sleep on the floor with bedding that gets folded and placed in a cabinet every morning.  If we did not do this, we would not have any floor space because of the many boxes and objects that take up space. The great majority of these possessions are to me unnecessary and in the way.   

I believe that possessions to many of us become so important, that we lose sight of what is important to God.  We see how the Lord sees riches and possessions when he spoke to a rich young ruler about eternal life.  

The Rich Young Ruler

 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”  

And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”  

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  

And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”  

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God.  For all things are possible with God.”  

Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”  

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”  Mark 10:17-31

The message Jesus gave in this passage is for us personally.  It is our decision whether to follow the Lord’s direction and be obedient to him.  We cannot impose our beliefs on others.

Our attitudes and opinions of others about their possessions can greatly affect our walk with the Lord.  Because of these visions, I am afraid that I have grieved the Lord with my complaining and critical remarks to others.  I should honor others’ rights to keep their possessions.  I know that I have difficulty in curbing my displeasure with the clutter and disorganization that overwhelms me.  But my critical attitude offends them and it offends the Lord.  I am wrong in this matter, and it is sin to me, and it is sin to God.  

We are told to honor one another, and that means to allow others to keep their possessions and to live as they choose.

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.”  Romans 12:10

“Live in harmony with one another.”  Romans 12:16

“If it is possible, as far as it depends upon you, live at peace with everyone.”  Romans 12:18

So, I must put aside my feelings regarding the use of space, and the preponderance of possessions.  Even though I understand how important it is to do the right thing, I find myself complaining from time to time.

But now, God is letting me know that He has become annoyed at my complaining about it and that I must take greater measures to avoid grieving him.  I am truly sorry Lord, for my bad attitude….

The Dripping Water

The vision of the drop of water falling right in front of me, shows me that my complaining to my family or about my family in regards to its possessions, has become a grievance both to God and to others.  

“A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.”  Proverbs 19:13

“A continual dripping on a very rainy day, and a contentious woman are alike.”  Proverbs 27:15-16

The Lord must consider this a very important topic to point it out twice in the book of Proverbs. So the vision of the drip that came from above my head, was to show me that complaining, and being overly critical is a terrible annoyance to God as well as to my family.      

I am ashamed to say that this is not the first time that I heard the Lord rebuke me for complaining. Years ago I was alone at the altar praying, when suddenly, I heard the Lord’s voice say, “Stop complaining!  Do you want to spend forty years in the wilderness like the Israelites?”

I was stunned by the Lord’s rebuke.  He certainly got my attention.  I immediately repented and promised the Lord that I would be careful to not complain anymore.  But within 10 minutes of leaving the altar, I found myself complaining again!  I had no idea that complaining had become a habit!  

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.   For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”  Romans 7:18-20

So How do we deal with this sin?  It is our willful flesh that sins against God. and at the same time our spirit wants to please God.  So we have to put down the flesh and allow the spirit to have its way.  Fortunately, when we become born again, our spirits are made alive in Christ.  We are given the Holy Spirit to indwell us. It is He that convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance.  What is needed is a training in righteousness. And that comes with the knowledge of the word of God.  

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I would not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:11

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:16-17 

Before we go further, let me introduce the third vision of the frisbee.   

The Frisbee 

In the vision, I saw a frisbee fly past me, and the man in front of me caught it effortlessly.  The man had a black tank top and shorts and wore his hair in an afro style as in the eighties.  I believe that this vision conveys the idea of training. 

When we train ourselves to excel at a task, an art, or a sport, we may spend years in practice.  So whatever we have been trained to do, we will do automatically, without even thinking.  

When the frisbee flew past me, the man caught the disk like it was second nature.  The man in the vision I recognized to be a former world class freestyle frisbee champion, having seen his video just this past week.  Because our minds are constantly recording events, we will respond to an object or stimulus based on how we have been trained. Without being athletically trained to catch a ball, we might duck or dodge an incoming object.  But if we had spent years in training, perfecting those skills, we would automatically catch the ball or frisbee without hesitation.

Now looking at the problem of sin presented in the vision, we know that we first must repent of the offense.  Then we need to ask the Lord to help us to overcome our weaknesses.  The Lord is faithful and he gives us the Holy Spirit to help us understand his will.  It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the desire to live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.  Through training in righteousness by the word of God, we are more readily able to respond to difficult situations with an understanding, helpful or forgiving manner.  By the Spirit and training in the word, we are able to put down the tendency to complain or react with a critical attitude.  And through the study of the word of God, and spending time with him, we become more conformed to his image, which should be our lifelong goal. 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Romans 12:2    

Let us consider the following passages as it relates to criticism and complaining.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  Matthew 7:1-5

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”  Romans 2:1

Complaining and being critical can become habitual. But with training in the word of God, we are able to develop self control and avoid this very common cause of friction and broken relationships.  

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”  Galatians 5:16-25 

So if we live by the Spirit, we will be able to overcome our flesh, to please God and to do his will. 

If by chance, you are on the other side of this issue and have a problem with possessions, rather than complaining, here are a few helpful scriptures:

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  Luke 12:15

“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”  Acts 2:44-45

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  Matthew 19:21

Regardless of whether our sin is covetousness or complaining, sin is sin.  And Jesus is the answer.  He simply asks us to repent, which means to change our mind and our direction.   The Lord is so willing to forgive us and put us in right standing with the Father.  

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

We all need to know the Lord and to understand his heart and his will. By spending time with him in prayer, and in reading and studying his word, we will grow in the Spirit and live a life that honors him and brings him glory. So let us honor him by not going our own way, and pleasing only ourselves.  

“For in him we live and move and have our being in him!”  Acts 17:28

Thanks for reading. Please share this post with others that may benefit. God bless you all!