When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
If we go on without gratitude – choosing to be bitter, constantly bemoaning our fate – we force ourselves to live in already unhappy conditions with the added drag of our gloomy disposition. Unwilling to stay mindful of the blessings we enjoy in spite of our difficulties, as well as the strength and sensitivity God grows best in us through hardship and loss, we sacrifice peace. We sacrifice contentment. We sacrifice relationships – freedom and grace and joy.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Taking our thoughts captive, one thought at a time, is the only way we can learn to overcome our natural tendency to fret, to complain, and to get upset about the difficulties that invade our lives. No matter what life’s small (and large) challenges face us, we alone are responsible for how we view the obstacles that God has allowed to enter our lives.
Giving Thanks Is Contagious
We may be tempted to complain and get angry at others’ decisions that impact us in ways we don’t like. We may be tempted to complain and get angry at God because after all, He is sovereign over all. But all the complaining in the world doesn’t alter or remove the difficulties we must face. As DeMoss so wisely states, “Unwilling to stay mindful of the blessings we enjoy in spite of our difficulties, as well as the strength and sensitivity God grows best in us through hardship and loss, we sacrifice peace.” Wise words.
God Knows Best
When God allows for reasons only He knows to place us into challenging, painful situations of any and every sort, our first and best response is to humbly bow our heads and give thanks (by faith) that He knows best. And then, we continue to say our thanks to our loving heavenly Father because we can be sure (because the bible tells us so) that His love for us supersedes our limited understanding. We know (because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross) that His love for us is superior to any human love or comfort of our own making.
Give Thanks One Thought At A Time
One thought at a time. It’s our decision to make our thoughts count for eternity and not waste them by petty complaining or surly resistance to God’s perfect plan for our lives. Through the grace of God we can learn to make gratitude our default to response to any and every challenges with which we are faced.
Take-away Action Thought
When I am tempted to complain, by the grace of God I will stop myself from going down a path that leads only to anger, disappointment, and bitterness. Instead, I will begin saying my thanks to God for every blessing I can think of. From the smallest to the largest, I will give thanks to God and learn to make this attitude of gratitude my default response.
My Heart’s Cry to You, O Lord
Father, I was tempted again today to let loose a litany of complaints about everything that is going wrong right now. I want to learn to respond with a heart full of gratitude and thanks no matter how challenging my life may become. But honestly, I’m not there yet. Please help me to use the self-control given me by the Holy Spirit to silence my complaints and the grace you supply to use my words to give you thanks. I may not like what you are allowing into my life but I know your perfect love for me exceeds my limited understanding. Thank you for being patient with me as I learn how to break the complaining habit once and for all. Amen.
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