Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.
Psalm 135:3 NKJV
No one likes a complainer. But most of use like to complain. Just being able to grouse about something seems to make us feel better, or at least vindicated in our irritation. Yet Philippians 2:14 (NKJV) tells us to “do all things without complaining.”
This is a hard one for me. When things bother me, I talk, and when something isn’t right in my day, my natural inclination is to comment on it. And that leads, sometimes, to more negative observations.
God knows that we become what we focus on. He desires that we be people of praise. Remember the Hebrews in the wilderness and how they complained and murmured every time something went wrong? Eventually, it affected their faith and they did not believe they could defeat the giants in Canaan, and God let them wander around for forty years until they were all dead. No doubt, many of them saw their sin, but it was too late to change the consequences.
The antidote for complaining is praising. Praise is the language of Christians. When we are praising, we are focusing not on ourselves but on Christ and His glory. And of course, this is where we find the most happiness.
Dear Lord, remind me to praise today when I feel like complaining. Show me how to switch gears and keep an attitude of praise to You all day long. Amen.
Recommended Resource:
If you liked today’s reading, we recommend the newest edition of Daily Wisdom for Women Devotional Collection. CLICK HERE to learn more.
Related Readings:
CLICK HERE to discover more readings about positivity.
Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2017 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Valorie Quesenberry.