Hammer on Anvil '

"Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy Name" (Psalm 30:4).

Grouchy people are not a new phenomenon. And when it comes to grouchy, I must -- as did Paul in his epistle to Timothy -- confess "I am the worst of all." Those of us who profess to know Jesus are supposed to look strikingly different from those who don't. So why are many of us cranky complainers?

Facebook has unfortunately become a venue for us to air our gripes and frustrations, and that is why I felt compelled to blog about this. On more than one occasion I have attempted to exhort brothers and sisters who seem to only post negative things. You know the type: something always "sucks" or they post about every physical ailment they have. Some use their smart phones to let the whole world know every time they're at the emergency room. Others even post photos of themselves in a hospital bed to elicit sympathy.

Don't get me wrong; I see nothing wrong with soliciting prayer support if you are going through a crisis of some sort. I'm referring to the people who have victim mentalities. They seem to thrive on repeated trips to the doctor/emergency room/hospital, and grouse about other circumstances that of course only happen to them. The long line at the grocery store, someone pulling out in front of them in traffic, or their dog messing on their carpet -- all of these are carefully orchestrated to aggravate them.

My heart grieves when I read these things. Honestly, I have hidden all the complainers from my news feed, but still get a dose of their negativity once in a while if they comment on somebody else's post.

Have we forgotten our Lord? Have we forgotten to open our Bibles and read about His magnanimous love for us? His stupendous mercy and grace? James 3:10 says, "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be." Yet we do precisely that. We may stand up on Sunday mornings and worship God, but what does the rest of our week look like?

Yes, the world we live in can be aggravating. Other people may drive us crazy. But we can discipline ourselves to respond differently. We can live every day with hearts that breathe praise to God.

You may recall that Psalm 51 is the one David wrote after the prophet Nathan confronted him about committing adultery with Bathsheba. Most of the psalm illustrates David's contrite heart. He confesses his sin, asks God to forgive him and pleads, "Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me." Then, in verse 15, David utters this wonderful prayer that I try to remember to pray on a daily basis:

Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare Your praise.

Friends, our lives and our attitudes can change drastically for the better if we cultivate the spiritual discipline of gratitude. Begin each day, before you even roll out of bed, to remember Psalm 118:24: "This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 29:2 exhorts us to "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His Name." Think about that. How much glory do you think God deserves? If we lived to be 100, that wouldn't be enough years to give God "the glory due His Name."

Dear brothers and sisters, it is time we ask God for a true spirit of repentance about our sin of ingratitude. Think about how much breath we expend complaining and criticizing. What would happen if instead that same breath was used to give God praise, and to thank Him for His never-ending love and grace? It grieves the heart of God when we take our eyes off Him and allow circumstances to turn us from joyful Christians into griping grouches.

We are supposed to be people whose joyful countenances draw others to us. If we are grouchy and negative and constantly complaining, who is going to care what we believe?

The difficult circumstances in our lives all have a purpose. We couldn't possibly be transformed into the image of God if we never had any struggles. Remember Jesus and what He suffered? That was all a part of Him yielding to His Father's will. If we profess to follow Jesus, we must yield to God in the same way. Trust that He knows what is best. Living a victorious Christian life doesn't mean everything will go our way. The victory is in maintaining a close relationship to God regardless of the circumstances.