Tell your troubles to Him

"With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him." Psalm 141:1,2 ESV

Several times a week one of my closest friends calls me while I'm on my morning run and she's on her early-morning commute to work. Not only is this a great way for us to pass the time but a great way to stay connected since we live several hours apart. And inevitably our conversation recently turned to the weather and the rising heat and humidity. "Is it hot there today?" Robin asked. "Well, it's 7:00 a.m. and I'm only halfway through my run and already drenched with sweat. But it is the Midwest and it is summer so I can't complain," I told her. "Well I could," I then added laughing, "but it wouldn't do any good." Joining in on the laughter, Robin replied, "You're sure right about that."  

And you know, complaining about things we are powerless to change really doesn't do any good does it? In fact, when we grumble, something we are warned not to do, we imply that God is not sufficiently good, faithful, wise or powerful enough to intercede on our behalf. And that's simply not true! The psalmist understood that and so, rather than grumble to himself or other people about his problems, prayed and laid out his complaint before God saying, "With my voice I cry out to the Lord... I tell my trouble before him." There was no grumbling there. The psalmist was clearly asking the Lord to help him with his troubles - and then trusting Him to do so. 

So avoid the urge to complain my friend, especially over things you can't control. Doing so not only steals your joy but robs the joy of those around you. Take your troubles and complaints to the Lord instead. After all, you can be sure He already knows your need and has the power to change any circumstance. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that You are all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-faithful. You know what we need before we even ask and have the solution to every problem that we could ever encounter in this world. Teach us to bring our troubles to the foot of the Cross that we might give them to the only One who can help. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!!!

I'm gonna let it go