Guard Against Grumbling
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
—PSALM 107:1
I felt it long before I expressed it: that slow simmer of frustration. My grumbling, which almost always starts out feeling like a deep growl, would soon begin. I wanted a clean kitchen, a little help, and some peace and quiet, and the irritation I was feeling turned into grumbling. And then I began to verbalize my complaints out loud to my husband and, of course, to God.
Are you a grumbler? Do you always find something wrong? Maybe the house is never clean enough or the kids are never quiet enough. This kind of grumbling reveals our blindness to our blessings. Our complaining shows how we fail to see all we have. And most serious of all, our grumbling and complaining are really accusations toward God that life is not going the way we want or the way we think it should.
Grumbling is dangerous not only to our hearts but also to our homes. A complaining spirit can fill the atmosphere with a thick fog that hangs over everyone. That’s why I love the reminder from the psalmist that we are to “give thanks.” Giving thanks is, after all, the best antidote to complaining. Giving thanks silences our grumbling as we remind ourselves of all we have and don’t deserve. Giving thanks always leads to gratefulness, gratefulness to joy, and joy to praise.
That’s the kind of heart I want to have. That’s the kind of home I want to cultivate. Let’s start today. Let’s nurture a heart and home that are filled with praise as we give thanks for all we have and don’t deserve.
Father, open my eyes to truly see and appreciate all that You have given me that I don’t deserve. Please teach me to guard my heart from focusing on what I don’t have or on what I think I need. Fill me with thankfulness. Help me find joy in You, thanking You for all that You have done, are doing, and will do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
In what ways can complaining be bad for your home? What can you begin to do today to cultivate a home characterized by gratitude instead of grumbling? We’d love to hear!
Excerpted with permission from The Better Mom Devotional by Ruth Schwenk, copyright Ruth Schwenk.
As a mom, you want to give your best to your family. Discover how God is using motherhood to shape your heart as you shape your home. No matter what season of motherhood you find yourself in, God can use this time to make you more like His Son–and a better mom.
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