Navigating the Night: Finding Complaints to Confidence
In this episode, Charlie jumps into the challenges we face during our 'nighttime seasons'—those periods of life characterized by discomfort, discontent, or dissatisfaction. Using Exodus 16 as a framework, Charlie discusses how the nighttime can expose our complaints and discomforts but also offers a unique opportunity for spiritual growth and deeper trust in God.
Practical Application: 1. Recognize Your Nighttime Discomforts: Acknowledge that discomfort may become more pronounced at night and use this awareness to address them constructively.
2. Examine Personal Complaints: Reflect on what you complain about and consider the underlying reasons. Use this insight to shift towards gratitude and trust.
3. Engage in Spiritual Practices: Implement nighttime practices such as prayer or scripture reading to find peace and comfort during these challenging times.
Key Takeaways: 1. The Night Amplifies Discomfort: The quiet of the night can make our physical and emotional pains more noticeable, mirroring how spiritual and existential discomforts come to the forefront. 2. Grumbling Reflects Deeper Issues: Our complaints often reveal deeper spiritual needs and can highlight areas where we need to grow in faith and reliance on God. 3. Transformative Potential of Night: Nighttime, despite its challenges, can be a transformative season if approached with intentionality and faith.
Relevant Scripture: Exodus 16:2-4: Highlights the Israelites' grumbling in the wilderness and God’s response to provide manna, illustrating His provision even in times of discontent.
Isaiah 53:7 and Luke 22:42: These verses demonstrate Christ’s approach to suffering—silent submission and prayerful surrender to God’s will, serving as a model for handling our own struggles.
In this message, we are encouraged to use our struggles as opportunities for spiritual growth. Examining our complaints and turning to God in those moments can transform our grumbling into gratitude and deepen our relationship with God. The episode challenges us to not only endure the night but to use it as a time to grow in faith and character, ensuring that when morning comes, we are stronger and more aligned with God's purposes.
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Join us next time on the Charlie Mitchell Teachings Podcast for more insights into living a faith-filled life. Subscribe and share to help others navigate their spiritual journey with confidence and peace
Navigating the Night: Finding Complaints to Confidence
In this episode, Charlie jumps into the challenges we face during our 'nighttime seasons'—those periods of life characterized by discomfort, discontent, or dissatisfaction. Using Exodus 16 as a framework, Charlie discusses how the nighttime can expose our complaints and discomforts but also offers a unique opportunity for spiritual growth and deeper trust in God.
Practical Application: 1. Recognize Your Nighttime Discomforts: Acknowledge that discomfort may become more pronounced at night and use this awareness to address them constructively.
2. Examine Personal Complaints: Reflect on what you complain about and consider the underlying reasons. Use this insight to shift towards gratitude and trust.
3. Engage in Spiritual Practices: Implement nighttime practices such as prayer or scripture reading to find peace and comfort during these challenging times.
Key Takeaways: 1. The Night Amplifies Discomfort: The quiet of the night can make our physical and emotional pains more noticeable, mirroring how spiritual and existential discomforts come to the forefront. 2. Grumbling Reflects Deeper Issues: Our complaints often reveal deeper spiritual needs and can highlight areas where we need to grow in faith and reliance on God. 3. Transformative Potential of Night: Nighttime, despite its challenges, can be a transformative season if approached with intentionality and faith.
Relevant Scripture: Exodus 16:2-4: Highlights the Israelites' grumbling in the wilderness and God’s response to provide manna, illustrating His provision even in times of discontent.
Isaiah 53:7 and Luke 22:42: These verses demonstrate Christ’s approach to suffering—silent submission and prayerful surrender to God’s will, serving as a model for handling our own struggles.
In this message, we are encouraged to use our struggles as opportunities for spiritual growth. Examining our complaints and turning to God in those moments can transform our grumbling into gratitude and deepen our relationship with God. The episode challenges us to not only endure the night but to use it as a time to grow in faith and character, ensuring that when morning comes, we are stronger and more aligned with God's purposes.
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Join us next time on the Charlie Mitchell Teachings Podcast for more insights into living a faith-filled life. Subscribe and share to help others navigate their spiritual journey with confidence and peace
Welcome to the Charlie Mitchell teaching and audio experience.
Charlie Mitchell:
Yo, what's up Epiphany family? I hope you're doing well today. I am so excited to be opening up the word of God with you. And so if you would, please grab your Bible right quick, go on and grab it, get it out. I want you to get comfortable with it because this is, this thing is going to be helping us. A lot today, but as well, I want you to just get kind of comfortable cause we're going to dive in. We got some work to do. But first before we jump into all of that I just want to say, I love you. I'm proud of you. And I'm, I'm so grateful for you continuing to rock and walk with Jesus throughout this entire season. You ever notice That at night, things just when you get a little bit sick, or you get a little achy, a little thing, you know, that back pain starts to creep up on you at night, you've gone all day, things have been going, but as soon as you kind of settle down, get comfortable on the couch, all of a sudden the neck aches, the back aches, the, the things start to come out and you start to grumble a little bit, ah. Ah, you starting to feel like that? Maybe it's just me because I'm getting a little bit older. Listen, things change at night and things about us change at night. Maybe we start to go after our little nighttime cravings. I know some of y'all got them little nighttime cravings. I know it. You know what I mean? You got your little piece of chocolate tucked away. Got you some ice cream. You know what I mean? The kids don't know about the ice cream that's tucked way in the back. Just a little special snack. Maybe you dive into those lucky charms. Late in the midnight hour. So all our vices, our desires, a lot of our passions, a lot of our aches, pains. It's starting to come out at night, and so we're going to be talking about that this morning. I don't want to hold you up very long, but I do want to address this very significant issue in our heart and in our life. Now listen, Exodus chapter 16, verse two, let's dive in the entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness grumbled. You know what grumbling is complaining, whining. noisy, on your nerves. Okay, let's go. The Israelites said to them, If only we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness, this nighttime season, to make this whole assembly die of hunger. Then the Lord said to Moses, I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions on the sixth day They when they prepare what they bring in it will be twice as much as they gathered on the other days So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites this evening You will know that it was the Lord that brought you out of the land of Egypt and in the morning You will see the Lord's glory because he has heard your complaints about him. Oh He heard your complaints about him All right. For who are we, who are we that you complain about us? Listen, it ain't about pastor Charlie. It ain't about pastor Trey. It ain't about your wife. It ain't about your kids. He about to tell us who it's about. Moses continued the Lord. will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread that you want in the morning for he has heard your complaints that you are raising against who him who are we your complaints are not against us but against the Lord oh oh we got to talk about it we got to go there it's been a lot of complaining going on a lot of complaining going on A lot of grumbling, a lot of whining, a lot of nerves being exposed, a lot of things that have been said. And listen, I know a lot of you are just good, nice, Christian, godly people, y'all are nice people. Y'all might not be like me. Y'all might not be like me, but, but, but I know the Lord has heard your complaining. Man, this all we got to eat? Man, I wish we could just go back to the way it was. Wow, this is how it is? Man, I had so many dreams and goals and visions and plans and all this stuff and it done been disrupted. Ah, he done brought us out here just to kill us. All this and that. What can happen when we read the scriptures is we get very judgmental. About these Israelites, that they would complain and complain and complain. I need you to know that they are a picture of what our heart disposition is like. So if you are shocked at them, I need you to turn the mirror on yourself and begin to look and analyze the words that have been coming out of your mouth. And I know some of you are kind of sneaky. I know some of y'all are kind of sneaky. I don't say that kind of stuff, but you think it, you've been frustrated. You've been disappointed. You've been grumbling under your breath and I need you to get to the point where it's not just about how we're acting, but the internal heart motivation. Last week I talked about God is not bringing us out into the wilderness or he is not taking us into the night to punish us. He is doing this to make things more permanent. This is a testing ground. Period. This is boot camp. He's making us do more laps. He's making us do more push ups. And what does that mean? That there are going to be things that come out. In other words, there's going to be toxins. That's what sweat is. When you start to sweat, the toxins that are in you are starting to start to come out. They're going to be exposed. The things that you have consumed, the things that you have put your mind on, they are naturally going to come out of your pores. Man, I used to hate it being a teenager. I used to hate it being a teenager walking into my mom's house, cause what happens? Whatever I ate that day, whatever was on our heart, whatever was going on, you could smell it. You got kids in the house, you got them teenagers that's growing up in your house, and they don't smell themselves? That's what's been happening for a lot of us during this crisis, is we haven't been able to smell ourselves, but the people around us have been hearing us. They've been watching our attitude and they've been seeing our snippiness and God is saying I'm not just satisfied with how you show up on Sunday morning. I ain't just satisfied with how you, how you post your little verses on, on Instagram and Twitter. I ain't satisfied with that. I actually want you to be like me. I actually want you to grow and mature. I actually want you to have a heart that's full of joy and gratitude. I ain't dissatisfied with you acting right. I want you to be right. And so today we're going to look at this thing and look at the Israelites are showing us how we act. Numbers chapter 11 verse one. Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard his anger burned and the lo and the fire from the Lord blazed against them and consumed the outskirts of the camp, I need you to understand how dangerous it is to be in a constant state of complaining. I need you to understand that the Lord hears our complaints. Gro listen, the RRA numbers 11 verse four, the RRA among them had a strong craving for other food. Tired of this. Tired of eating the same stuff, tired of this, I wish we could just move around, wish we could go where we want, wish we could do what we want to do, who are these people to tell us what to do, yah, yah, yah, yah, yah, the Israelites wept again and said, who will feed us meat? We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and garlic, but now our appetite is gone, there's nothing to look at but this manna. Mmmmm. So in the midst of the pandemic, God has been providing, he's been caring, he's been loving, he's been making a way where there didn't seem to be a way. You are going through things that you didn't know that you could survive and endure. You're going through all kinds of things. Miracles are happening on a daily basis. We're seeing God. at work in different parts of our life, in our children, in our own heart, all this and that. And you sitting here complaining about what I wish I had. Wow. Wow. Really? And what I need us to understand is, grumbling, whining, and thinklessness are not ultimately the heart's response to circumstances. It ain't about your circumstances. You know what, who this is about? This is about God. This is about God complaining exposes our grasp for control. You wish you could do God's job. And so you letting everybody in your household at work know how you feel about your circumstance in your situation. Complaining ultimately exposes our lack of trust. Because what you're saying is God, you're insufficient. God, you're not faithful. God, you don't see my situation. God, you've forgotten about me. God, you don't love me. God, your word ain't true. So it's ultimately a lack of trust. And so what I need us to see is that complaining is a deadly, deadly, deadly disease. That threatens your faith. It threatens your joy. It threatens your peace. It is more deadly than any virus that is out here in the world. The heart of gratitude and thankfulness is not dependent. It should not be dependent on your bank statements. It should not be dependent on a doctor's diagnosis. Your, your thankfulness should not be dependent upon your job security. Your thankfulness and grumbling reflects your heart. It reflects who you really are, what really matters to you, where your source is found. Complaining penetrates the heart. Complaining is like a toxin that spreads. Complaining is like a virus and it does violence to your soul when you complain. And I know some of y'all listen, Pastor Charlie, hold, hold, hold, slow down now, slow down now Pastor Charlie, cause listen, I ain't complaining, I ain't complaining, I'm keeping it real, I'm being honest, I'm being honest about my situation, listen, there is a difference between complaining and lamenting, and let me show you what that difference is. Complaining is talking about God, lamenting is taking your concerns to God. Let me say that slow because I know some of us miss that. Complaining is talking about God and the job he is not doing because he is not living up to your preferences. Lamenting is taking your concerns to God. God has given us entire books of the Bible. To help us to see that we can go to him with our concerns. Come to me all you, weary and tired and I will give you rest. Come to me. All you anxious come to me, all you ha burden and heavy laden I want to hear. Come, pray without seasoning. Come to me. Talk to me about stuff you got on your mind. But we ain't doing that. Man, see, I wish, and the Israelites are crazy because they are being deceit, they're playing themselves. You know how I know they're playing themselves? You know how I know they're playing themselves? Because they done rewrote history. They done rewrote history. Did you see in verse three where they talked about, remember when we were in Egypt? And we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. They done rewrote history. They done forgot how they was in slavery. They done forgot all about the slavery piece. Forgot all about the whips and the chains. Forgot all about the bricks without mud. Forgot all about not having your freedom. Forgot all about that. Forgot all about that. No, no, no, no, no, no. Man, remember the garlic and the onions and the leeks and the, and the melons and the, man, it was just so good. It was just so, listen, do not be in a hurry to go back to a place that you were complaining about. One of the weirdest things I've been seeing is like, man, I just wish things would go back to normal. Normal? Have we forgotten the things that we were praying for eight weeks ago? Remember when you were stressed out back then? Remember when you were anxious back then? Remember when you couldn't stand being around them back then? Remember how you wished you could just take a break? Remember how you could just wish you had another way, another means, another something, and you just didn't know what was going to happen? So now you in a hurry to get back. You want to hurry to get back there? Don't play yourself. Don't play yourself. Complaining exposes our grasp for control. Complaining exposes our lack of trust. And listen, I want us to move from complaining to confidence. I want us to move from complaining to confidence. How do we move from complaining to confidence? to like strength and resolve and an honest relationship with God to where I can bring to him my concerns without it being whining. How do we do that? Number one, I want you to do this. I want you to learn from Jesus. How do we learn from Jesus? Isaiah 53 verse 7 says, he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. Y'all listen, sometimes we got to, if you ain't got nothing, we got to keep quiet. Keep quiet. Now, we can bring our concerns, but if it's just me yapping out at the mouth and then I just, I'm just going ranting, that's not helpful for you or for anybody else. Luke 22, verse 42. How did Jesus, reframe it when he was dealing with some pressures from God the Father? Father, if you are willing, this is lament, this is going to God in prayer, not complaining about him. Here's what he said, Father if you are willing. Take this cup from me. Father, please protect my job. Father, please give me the patience I need to, to be kind to my children. Father, I'm tired of looking at my husband or my wife all day, every day. They on my nerves. God, if you are willing, man, help me to endure. Nevertheless Not my will, but yours be done. Learn from Jesus today. Learn from Jesus to surrender your will to the will of the Father. Why? Because Jesus remembered that God is not a vindictive God. He is not a God of wrath and pain and punishment for his children. He is a loving father. And so when you remember that, you go, Oh, okay, God, I, I'm having a hard time, but I trust that you said you're not going to leave me nor forsake me. So help me to, to, to, to get in line. with who you are. And that's what prayer is. Prayer literally is helping us get our will in alignment with God's will. So I want you to learn from Jesus. Second thing I want you to do is remember God's faithfulness. Remember God's faithfulness. The past is deceptive. We put rose colored glasses on the things we want to put rose colored glasses on. We do. It's just, it's just human nature. Maybe it's a mechanism we have in our mind to kind of cover things up, but we can rewrite history. You saw what the Israelites did. The Israelites said to them, if only we had died by the Lord's hand, God, you would have been merciful to us just to kill me in 2019 so I wouldn't have to go through this. We sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Don't be in a hurry. Don't be in a hurry to get back to what you complained about. Psalm 77, 11 through 12 says it like this. I want you to hear this. I will remember here's what you need to remember. Not what you were doing. The Lord, I will remember the Lord's works. Yes, I will remember your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all you have done and I will meditate on your actions. Here's one of the things you can do this week is I need you to go back down and create a list. I need you to come back and create a list of all the good things that God has done in your life. Some of us have easily forgotten what God has done. Remember when he protected you from making a shipwreck out of your life. Remember how he gave you a godly mother or godly grandmother or somebody to come along and present the gospel to you in a way that you can understand. Remember how he awakened you to the ugliness of your sin and how you have been acting foolishness. Remember how you had walked away from that car crash that you should have died in. Remember how you got up out of that hospital bed that you should not have got out of. Remember how he brought key people in your life. to tell you at the right time, the right words to believe in the sea so that you can move forward in your life. Remember how he miraculously healed you. Remember the prayers he answered. Remember the money that came in when you didn't know where it was coming from. I got a check in the mail this week, didn't know it was coming. The Lord is providing right here, right now. Remember how the gospel came alive in your life. Remember how he protected your children when you couldn't protect them. Remember how good God has been. You better remember, and some of us it's too easy, it's too easy to get back in and start rewriting history. Don't rewrite history. I need you to remember the actions of God and meditate on them. Last, how do you move from complaining to confidence? The present is a gift. The present is a gift. Isaiah 43, 16 to 19 says, Do not remember the past events. Pay no attention to the things of old. Ha ha ha ha ha. I just told you to remember all the good stuff that God did. And God is saying, Isaiah 43, 16. He said, listen, listen. I don't want you to remember all that stuff so much. Because look, I am about to do. Something new, even now, it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. So I know I had been faithful back then. I know I did some miraculous stuff back then. But right now, I want to do something new in you. And you so caught up in the past that you can't see what I'm doing in the present. I want you to focus your attention on what God is doing right here and right now. The present, I like what Common said. Common said it like this. He said, the present is a gift and I just want to be. The present is a gift. The circumstance is a gift. And I want to be here. I want to be fully present here. So listen, we want to move from complaining. We want to move from complaining to confidence. We don't have to be fearful. We don't have to be reactionary. We can be intentional. And that also includes, I want my heart to be changed. The things that are coming out of my heart, I want them to be more like Christ. And so take an audit this week, maybe of the words that you've said. Are they more negative and positive? Are they more aggressive and hostile? Or are they more peaceful and encouraging? Take a audit. And if you're seeing, man, there's some imbalances, come on back and just go, okay, I need to be more intentional because I'm trying to grasp at control and I need to surrender my will to God's will. And God is good. He is so good. He is providing. He is meeting needs. So don't miss it. Don't miss it with your complaining. Don't miss it with being so focused on the past. Don't miss it by holding your breath and holding on for the next day. Hey, listen, be fully present today. Move from complaining to confidence and we're going to get through this thing together. I love you. I miss you and I wish you the absolute best and may God's grace be upon you this week.
