We don’t have to look very far to find things to complain about. God placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Paradise where they had everything they needed to be happy. But they chose to focus on the one tree they couldn’t have. God miraculously divided the Red Sea, guided the Israelites through the wilderness and provided food from heaven each day so they’d never go hungry. And they appreciated it…for a while: ‘They…sang his praise. But they soon forgot what he had done’ (Psalm 106:12-13 NIV). That’s why Paul wrote, ‘Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise…Then the God of peace will be with you’ (Philippians 4:8-9 NLT). When life is good, having a positive outlook feels quite straightforward. But when things aren’t going so well for us, we have to make a conscious choice to focus on faith over fear, hope over despair, or solutions over problems. It’s not easy, but we can do it by keeping our eyes lifted towards God. When Paul and Silas were in prison, they could have given in to discouragement and hopelessness. But they didn’t even complain about their situation – instead they chose to focus on God by ‘praying and singing hymns’ (Acts 16:25 NIV). Even if our problems aren’t solved in the way we’d like, when we focus on God and all that’s good, He’ll lift us above our circumstances and give us peace in the midst of them.

What Now?

Whenever you feel like complaining today, try to stop yourself and switch your focus to something good that you can see – it might be a photo, the view from your window, a shelf full of books – anything that brings a spark of joy.