A Twelfth Plea

Another reasoning of a murmuring heart is this. Oh but after I have taken a great deal of pains for such a comfort, yet then I am crossed in it, after a great deal of labor and pains that I have taken now to be crossed, Oh this goes very hard.

First I answer, The greater cross, the more obedience and submission.

Secondly, When you did take a great deal of pains, was it not with submission to God? Did you take pains with resolution, that you must have such a thing when you labor for it? Then know that you labor not as a Christian, but if you did labor and take pains, was it not with resignation to God, Lord I am taking pains in the way of my calling, but with submission, I depend wholly upon Thee for success and a blessing; And what was it that you did aim at in your labor? Was it not that you might walk with God in the place that God had set you? A Christian should do so in his outward calling, I am diligent in my outward calling, but it is, that I might obey God in it; it's true, I do it that I might provide for my family, but the chief thing that I aim at is, That I might yield obedience to God in the way that God hath set me: Now if God calls you to another condition to obey Him in though it be by suffering, you will do it if your heart be right.

Thirdly, There will be the more testimony of your love to God, if so be you shall now yield up yourself to God in that that cost you dear. Shall I offer that to God (says David) that cost me nothing? Your outward comforts have cost you much, and you have taken much pains to obtain them, and now if you can submit to God in the want of them, (I say) in this your love is more shown that you can offer that to God that cost you dear. Now these are the principal reasonings of a discontented heart.

Another reasoning of a murmuring heart is this: "After I have worked so hard to obtain a certain comfort, I am then crossed and denied it — and after all that labor, this is especially hard to bear."

First, the greater the cross, the more opportunity there is for obedience and submission.

Second, when you labored so hard, did you do it with submission to God? Did you work with a firm resolve that you must have this thing no matter what? If so, you were not laboring as a Christian. A Christian labors in his calling while remaining surrendered to God — saying, in effect: "Lord, I am working diligently in the path You have set before me, but I depend entirely on You for the outcome and the blessing." And what was the real goal of your labor? Was it not to walk with God in the place He placed you? A Christian should work hard in his outward calling — but the chief purpose is to obey God in it, not merely to secure a particular result. Yes, he works to provide for his family — but above all, he works to obey God in the path God has set before him. So if God now calls you to a different condition — even one that involves suffering — and your heart is right, you will follow Him there too.

Third, there is actually greater testimony of your love for God when you surrender to Him something that cost you dearly. David said: "Shall I offer to God something that cost me nothing?" Your outward comforts have cost you much — you labored hard to obtain them. Now, if you can submit to God in losing them, your love is proven all the more clearly: you are offering to God something that came at great personal cost. And with that, we have covered the main reasonings and pleas of a discontented heart.