More On The Complaining Fast

Okay, I have received enough e-mails on the complaining post that I figure it warrants a little more time here. Let me give a little more information. What is a complaint? In my opinion, which you are certainly welcome to disagree with, complaining is not so much what you say as it is an attitude of the heart.

I have noticed a couple of times since I've started this fast, that my words could have possibly been taken as a complaint, but I REALLY, sincerely, didn't mean them that way. I know from some of your e-mails that some of you have already found that out too. The other thing I've noticed, is that you don't have to say anything at all and can still be complaining on the inside...know what I'm talkin' about? SO, that's why I say that it is primarily an attitude of the heart.

Also, some have expressed concern saying, "if I mess up do I really have to start over?" To me, that's between you and God. As for how I'm doing it, I'm doing a 21 day fast...period. Unless God dictates something different. If I mess up, I'll recognize it and ask forgiveness and keep going.

Mariann Schaefer sent me a devotion today that ties in nicely with this, so I've copy and pasted it below...the primary thing that spoke to me about it was the scripture it quotes from Deuteronomy...see below

(from Turning Point with David Jeremiah)
Serving with Joy
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.Psalm 100:2

Recommended ReadingHebrews 1:8-9

Are you involved in service at your church? When we visit those who are in need of encouragement, it should be with joy. When we watch children in the nursery or minister to preschoolers, it should be with joy. When we sing in the choir, we should have a joyful expression on our face. When we wash the dishes at home or vacuum the living room, we should do it with joy, for even the simplest acts of life are done as unto the Lord.

Joy is to our daily Christian duties what blossoms are to a rose bush or what a flag is to a flagpole. We aren't to serve the Lord with weariness, drudgery, worry, or anger—we're to serve Him with joy.

This same truth—which is worded positively in Psalm 100—is stated in the negative in Deuteronomy 28:47-48: "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you."

How terrible to serve the Lord with any other attitude than a continual source and supply of joy! Commit to serving with joy today.

Joy improves our personalities, increases our energy, transforms our worship, and bears us through difficulties. It is joy unspeakable and full of glory.Robert J. Morgan