Read this in your best whining voice: “Why won’t you buy that for me?” “Why won’t you help me?” “You don’t understand me.”
Does whining work in your house? Probably not. Whining is selfish. It means you’ve forgotten just how blessed you are.
The Israelites were feeling pretty whiney, having forgotten just how much their God had blessed them. So Isaiah, a prophet from God, passed along this message: “Jacob, why do you complain? Israel, why do you say, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my rights are ignored by my God’? Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The eternal God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t grow tired or become weary. His understanding is beyond reach. He gives strength to those who grow tired and increases the strength of those who are weak” (Isaiah 40:27-29).
If you’re tempted to whine today, wondering why God hasn’t given you more or why God doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers, hear him tell you, “<Put your name here>, why do you complain? <Put your name here>, why do you say, ‘God ignores me’?”
God, who created the world out of nothing, has never once gotten tired of being your God, of being everybody’s God. He has plans for you and uses everything in your life to shape you into the person he wants you to be. He is busy helping you and giving you strength to face each day.
I can’t think of any good reason to whine, can you?
