You are now entering a no-complaint zone. . .

Last week we started looking at barriers that get in the way of living a life of thank you. Today, we continue to take that deeper.

One barrier that can get in the way of living life of thank you is complaining.

Certainly we experience feelings or see that a situation is hard. We are honest about that with God, with ourselves, and with those closest. Complaining is different than being honest and transparent about a situation.

Complaining is expressing dissatisfaction or annoyance about a state of affairs, an event, or a person — with no offer of resolution.

Throughout scripture we see examples of this. God reaches for his people. He leads them. He encourages them.

In return, they gripe. They murmur. They complain.

They thought he should do it differently. They wanted more. They wanted it now.

They resented the heat. They didn’t like the cold.

They wanted to hear his voice. They didn’t like it when he spoke through the prophets.

They were angry at uncertainty. They wanted an adventure.

They demanded food. They didn’t like the food God provided.

They were so busy complaining they couldn’t hear God. They couldn’t see the gifts he was trying to give them. They didn’t see the gifts they already had. They missed being in the center of his will, because they believed they knew better.

Do you struggle with complaining?

We all struggle with this from time to time, for we are human. But is it chronic? Has this become our identity, or the way that we communicate with those we love the most?

Last year, I asked thousands of women to join me in a no-complaint challenge. I invited them to honestly listen to themselves in this area of conversation, and to invite the Holy Spirit into the process.

This wasn’t about condemnation, but to truly take a peek into our heart.

 

The results were eye-opening.

One woman shared that she complained mostly to a teenaged daughter, and no one else. She was unhappy with her daughter’s attitude. She didn’t like what her daughter said, or didn’t say. When she started listening to herself, she was surprised to hear her words from her daughter’s perspective.

“I threw loads of complaints at her each day, never ever offering resolution. Never, ever stopping to think that my attitude was just as hard on my daughter as hers was on me.”

Another woman confessed that she and her family had moved earlier that year and she was unhappy with the move.

She 100% believed God brought her and her husband to their current city, but she was sad to leave old friends. She was unhappy to leave her church. In the 24-hour challenge, she realized that most of her day involved conversation wrapped around what she lost.

“It was a wake-up call,” she said. “I hadn’t asked God for direction. I wasn’t prepared to step into the new. I was unhappy and I wanted God, my husband, and the world to know it.”

When we are trapped in chronic complaining, we have little bandwidth left for gratitude.

[bctt tweet=”Give up complaining for a day. Maybe it will be a new beginning. wp.me/p4jbdw-3Yo” username=”suzanneeller”]

On day #13 of the faith adventure, Living a Life of Thank You, I want to invite you to a 24-hour “no complaint” challenge.

  • Look at your watch. Note the time. For the next 24 hours you will completely give up complaining.

For the next 24 hours, ask these questions when tempted to complain:

What am I complaining about?

Does complaining make this situation better?

Is this a chronic complaint or an honest attempt to share how I feel?

Did I bring a resolution?

Am I open to resolution?

Write your answers down. You might be surprised at what you find.

As you answer these questions, cover them with grace. Celebrate the answers, even if they aren’t what you want. When we see an area that God can work miracles in, it’s a beautiful day.

If you join in this challenge, will you share your thoughts here throughout the day? We want to pray with you. We will cheer you on! I personally am joining in. I’ll share how it goes for me too. <3

Father, for the next 24 hours we hold up our grumbling thoughts and give them up. If there’s a problem, Lord help us to deal with it with wisdom rather than complaining. If we don’t like something, help us to be a part of the change. If we are complaining out of habit, show us and we invite you to help us break that habit. As we offer up grumbling, help us to notice all that is good and to verbalize that too. In Jesus’ name. 

Suzie

Living a Life of Thank You Day #13

A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired. Prov 17:22 (The Msg)

Q: Why is complaining so exhausting (for you or those on the receiving end)?

Q: Complaining is defined as expressing dissatisfaction or annoyance without resolution.

  • Describe what it might look like to be honest about a situation, while bringing resolution.

Join me on my ministry Facebook page to talk about this more.

Related Resource

Listen to this audio where I share my battle with a “complaint” that was actually a blessing.