My wife and I were downstairs early this morning, which is pretty rare. Most of the time one of us is gone to work or meetings in the early mornings, so this was kind of rare.
She was fixing scrambled eggs for our son who has to go to school first. She asked me, while she was fixing breakfast, to make our son a sandwich for his lunch. I went over to the fridge and opened it up. That's when my bad day started.
As soon as I opened the door, stuff started falling. A container of cherry tomatoes, not properly put away, fell out and scattered all over the floor. I happened to step on a few of them. Then more items started spilling out, and it was all I could do to catch them before they hit the ground- jars of jelly, apples, you name it. All spilling out. It would have been pretty funny if I was watching someone else, but I was definitely not amused.
When I finally stopped the avalanche of refrigerator items from falling, I was pretty mad. Someone had just thrown all the stuff in there and I happened to be the one reaping the consequences. It was quite a mess. To make things worse, when I reached in to get the bread and turkey, as I was pulling them out of the fridge, I started another avalanche of stuff.
I lost my cool. I started complaining.
And then it hit me.
I'm complaining about having so much food that it's spilling out of the fridge. Really?
See, what I learned today was that most of what we complain about, if not all, are things that God blesses us with. I began to think about the things I complain about on a daily basis- and there was something in every one of them that was a blessing from God:
1. The over-abundance of food in my house that I complained about this morning- I'm literally complaining about having too much food. Lord, help me change that complaint into thankfulness and amazement that I have more food in my house than many people see in a month.
2. The mess in the family room that drives me nuts- that's the sign of a house full of children. Lord, help me change that complaint into thankfulness and amazement, because there are many in this world who cannot have children or have lost children and would die to have that mess if it meant they actually had children. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of my children.
3. The traffic on the roads that I complain about- that's the sign that I am wealthy enough to afford a car, insurance, gas, and so is everyone else on the road. Amazing. I also am healthy enough to drive. Lord, help me change that complaint into thankfulness and amazement that I have a standard of living that includes not just one car, but three, and the ability to drive on safe roads.
4. The idiots in government that are running this country- the fact that I can write that without fear of being arrested means I live in a free country. Lord, help me change that complaint into thankfulness and amazement. People in North Korea would die to be able to say the things I am saying/have said about those in power.
5. The never-ending chores of being a homeowner: yard work, mowing, lawn care; fixing/replacing broken appliances, painting, cleaning, etc. Lord, help me turn that complaint into thankfulness that I own my own home (and I love it) and it's more than I could ever deserve.
6. The never-decreasing piles of laundry- that's the sign that my wife, children, and I are healthy and active and all play sports. Lord, help me turn that complaint into thankfulness, because You have given us a healthy home. It's also a sign that we have plenty to wear, and we have more clothes than many people in this world. We have an over-abundance of one of life's essentials. We are so blessed.
I could go on. I think one of the ways you know that you are growing closer to the Lord is that you are able to turn your complaints into praise. Just about everything you complain about is actually a blessing that God has given you.
Do you complain about work? You have the blessing of a job, of income. Turn it into thankfulness.
Do you complain about your spouse? You have the blessing of marriage. Turn it into thankfulness.
Do you complain about the weather? You have the blessing of changing seasons. Be thankful.
Do you complain about anything? I guarantee there is one of God's many blessings right there beside it.
Find the blessing in the complaint, and turn your complaints into thankfulness to God. Honestly, we should have no reason to complain about anything. God is good. We are blessed.
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Philippians 2:14-15
She was fixing scrambled eggs for our son who has to go to school first. She asked me, while she was fixing breakfast, to make our son a sandwich for his lunch. I went over to the fridge and opened it up. That's when my bad day started.
As soon as I opened the door, stuff started falling. A container of cherry tomatoes, not properly put away, fell out and scattered all over the floor. I happened to step on a few of them. Then more items started spilling out, and it was all I could do to catch them before they hit the ground- jars of jelly, apples, you name it. All spilling out. It would have been pretty funny if I was watching someone else, but I was definitely not amused.
When I finally stopped the avalanche of refrigerator items from falling, I was pretty mad. Someone had just thrown all the stuff in there and I happened to be the one reaping the consequences. It was quite a mess. To make things worse, when I reached in to get the bread and turkey, as I was pulling them out of the fridge, I started another avalanche of stuff.
I lost my cool. I started complaining.
And then it hit me.
I'm complaining about having so much food that it's spilling out of the fridge. Really?
See, what I learned today was that most of what we complain about, if not all, are things that God blesses us with. I began to think about the things I complain about on a daily basis- and there was something in every one of them that was a blessing from God:
1. The over-abundance of food in my house that I complained about this morning- I'm literally complaining about having too much food. Lord, help me change that complaint into thankfulness and amazement that I have more food in my house than many people see in a month.
2. The mess in the family room that drives me nuts- that's the sign of a house full of children. Lord, help me change that complaint into thankfulness and amazement, because there are many in this world who cannot have children or have lost children and would die to have that mess if it meant they actually had children. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of my children.
3. The traffic on the roads that I complain about- that's the sign that I am wealthy enough to afford a car, insurance, gas, and so is everyone else on the road. Amazing. I also am healthy enough to drive. Lord, help me change that complaint into thankfulness and amazement that I have a standard of living that includes not just one car, but three, and the ability to drive on safe roads.
4. The idiots in government that are running this country- the fact that I can write that without fear of being arrested means I live in a free country. Lord, help me change that complaint into thankfulness and amazement. People in North Korea would die to be able to say the things I am saying/have said about those in power.
5. The never-ending chores of being a homeowner: yard work, mowing, lawn care; fixing/replacing broken appliances, painting, cleaning, etc. Lord, help me turn that complaint into thankfulness that I own my own home (and I love it) and it's more than I could ever deserve.
6. The never-decreasing piles of laundry- that's the sign that my wife, children, and I are healthy and active and all play sports. Lord, help me turn that complaint into thankfulness, because You have given us a healthy home. It's also a sign that we have plenty to wear, and we have more clothes than many people in this world. We have an over-abundance of one of life's essentials. We are so blessed.
I could go on. I think one of the ways you know that you are growing closer to the Lord is that you are able to turn your complaints into praise. Just about everything you complain about is actually a blessing that God has given you.
Do you complain about work? You have the blessing of a job, of income. Turn it into thankfulness.
Do you complain about your spouse? You have the blessing of marriage. Turn it into thankfulness.
Do you complain about the weather? You have the blessing of changing seasons. Be thankful.
Do you complain about anything? I guarantee there is one of God's many blessings right there beside it.
Find the blessing in the complaint, and turn your complaints into thankfulness to God. Honestly, we should have no reason to complain about anything. God is good. We are blessed.
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Philippians 2:14-15
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