Ever find yourself complaining when things aren’t going the way you want them to? Or been in a tough situation and told God that this shouldn’t be happening to you? It’s easy for us to find ourselves in a negative frame of mind when we’re struggling with something. But the Bible repeatedly tells us to stay away from complaining. In Philippians, we’re told to ‘do everything without complaining’. To stop complaining, we need to be honest with ourselves. Once we’re willing to face the truth about our attitude and do something about it, our lives will start to improve. We need to see the root of the problem. Sometimes our complaining comes from an elevated view of ourselves, other times we complain because it’s easier to moan about our lives with our friends rather than be positive. And sometimes it’s because we’d prefer to hold on to the past rather than believe for a better future. When the Israelites left Egypt and entered the desert, on their way to the Promised Land, they began complaining to Moses. They moaned about what they would eat and drink. They even said that they would have been better off staying in slavery in Egypt (take a look at Exodus 14:12). Once we become negative about one or two things, we can find ourselves complaining about everything. And when God takes us out of our comfort zones, we can even start to think we were better off in the past because it was comfortable. Paul says, ‘Rejoice always…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you’ (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV). God wants us to be thankful, rather than spending our lives complaining about things. So let’s make sure we’re rejoicing not complaining.

What Now?

Every time you find yourself complaining, stop and say out loud one thing you’re thankful to God for.