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Have you ever kept a journal to record your spiritual growth? I have found journaling to be a real help and aid to growing up in Christ. So, to perhaps inspire you to journal as you read God’s Word, and to give you some idea of what that might look like, I’m sharing some entries from my journals. They come from the passage that I read for the day. Here’s one from Psalm 106:24-25:
Then they despised the pleasant lands; they did not believe his promise. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord.
These verses refer to the children of Israel as they were slowly making their way to the Promised Land. It’s interesting that we are given this detail: “They grumbled in their tents.” The children of Israel thought they could grumble “in their tents” in privacy. They had a right to say what they thought “in their tents”—where no one but those closest relatives and friends would know.
Perhaps they put on a good face outside their tents, but in their tents, where they thought no one could see or hear, they grumbled. Their true attitude came out.
God hears our “tent grumbling.” The attitude of my heart does not go unnoticed by God, no matter how appropriate I may appear outside “my tent.” And that grumbling—that discontentment—that self-focus—always shows to others, whether I realize it or not.
Remember, God sees your grumbling heart, even when no one else does. Rejoice in the Lord always. Even in your tent!
That’s the end of the entry for that day, but I hope you can see how God can take a passage that may seem meaningless on first reading, and through the Holy Spirit can show you a truth and teach you a lesson that truly touches your life.
I’m going to be more intentional about eliminating “tent grumbling” from my life; I hope you will, too.