Daily Devotion: 10 Days til Guatemala

This devotion from Terry really spoke to me..."Complaining is a poor reflection on the condition of your heart and the sound of it is poison to others around you."  

May 24 - Complaints = Poison

Proverbs 18: 21 "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

"Gross! That is the most disgusting thing I have ever smelled!" "Look at all of this cow manure! How can they play here?" "I'm not eating that." "Look at his feet. I've never seen anything so disgusting." "I'm hot...I'm tired...I'm hungry..."

And those just scratch the surface of things I've heard team members say on mission trips.

I think I have said enough now that a mission trip can throw a lot of unexpected curves your way and the challenges can be more complicated than walking through a foul smelling market, a field filled with cow manure and spending hours in the heat.

Faith and praise are what you need to take with you. The enemy attempts to use every difficulty and inconvenience to deceive you into complaining. A complaint is really a statement that somehow God has failed you. Such statements influence everyone around you and weaken the team. That is why God dislikes complaining so much. Every inconvenience you face is an opportunity to grow, be changed, get stronger and see God in a way you've never seen Him before.

Complaining is a poor reflection on the condition of your heart and the sound of it is poison to others around you. Whatever you will face during your trip, keep your focus on the Lord. Be careful what you let roll off your tongue.

Father, I choose to approach this trip with praise on my lips, for you are a great God and you are in charge. Thank you for all that you will have me encounter on this trip, both pleasant and unpleasant. I know that all things will work together for the good of my teammates and myself because we love you and we are called according to your purpose. Let my heart not embrace any temptation to complain because I know how displeasing that is to you, how it will infect my team and dull the effectiveness of this ministry.

Terry Carr Bracey
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Across All Borders