Tag: Positive Woman Connection

No Complaining. Really?

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If I challenged you to cut out complaining and arguing from your life for an entire week, could you do it? What about for a month?  Now we are getting a little difficult. What if I challenged you to stop complaining and arguing for the rest of your life? Wait! Don’t stop reading this blog! I’m serious. Let’s just take a look at the possibilities here. The apostle Paul actually wrote to the Philippians that they should do “everything without complaining, grumbling or arguing.”

Now perhaps you are thinking, Aren’t there times when we need to stand up for ourselves? Surely God doesn’t intend for us to never talk about our difficulties. Yes, there is a time and a place for wisely and respectfully sharing our concerns, but the bigger issue we need to consider is how do we handle life when it doesn’t go our way. Here’s what Paul wrote:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. Philippians 2:14- 15.

Paul is encouraging us to shed some bad habits, so that we may shine Christ’s light more brightly in this dark world. Often complaining and grumbling are  born out of pride, anger or a lack of faith. We think we know what is best and when things don’t go as planned, we tend to get our feathers ruffled. Sometimes issues of unforgiveness or bitterness are lingering in our heart, causing us to complain and argue.

Is it really possible to live without grumbling? To be honest, we all have a tendency to grumble and complain – it is our basic human nature. But God can do a mighty work in our lives through the power of His spirit within us. He can transform our grumbly heart into a grateful one. Here are three ideas to put into practice the next time you feel a need to complain.

  1. Turn your eyes upward and thank the Lord for the good things He is doing. One of the greatest antidotes to complaining and whining is to take our focus off of the frustration and look instead at our blessings. As we sincerely thank Him for the ways He has worked in our lives, then we also begin to realize God can take care of our present situation. We don’t need to be spouting off about every problem that comes our way.
  2. Pray for guidance. Anytime we are about to grumble, we must ask ourselves a simple question, “Have I prayed about this?” As we seek God’s wisdom on how to handle the situation, we can ask Him to help us grow through it as well. Prayer allows our worries to dwindle. When we bring our challenges to God first, then we do not give worry an opportunity to set in. Like logs to a fire, worry and anxiety fuel complaining and whining. Faith says, “I will trust God’s unfailing love through this challenge.”
  3. Take positive action. There are times when we do need to present our point of view or our concern, but we can do it without grumbling or whining. Instead we can wisely, patiently and kindly present our thoughts or perspective to the right person. Let’s be willing to be a part of the solution, and look for what we can do rather than focusing on what we can’t do.

Every opportunity to complain is actually an opportunity to grow in our faith and trust in the Lord. Ultimately, when we truly believe God loves us and has a good purpose for our lives, then grumbling, whining and bickering tend to dissipate. May we be bright shining lights as we show an unbelieving world that we trust a big God.

This is an excerpt from my book, A Woman’s Passionate Pursuit of God. Click the link below for more information about the book and DVD based on Philippians.  https://positivewomanconnection.com/books/#biblestudy

 

 

Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash

True Positive: Day 12 – Work

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Our work can bring us joy, enrich our lives and even increase our positivity. Projects, chores or responsibilities give us a sense of accomplishment and commitment to a greater cause. Work often gives us the opportunity to serve others and to get our minds off of our own self-centered problems. We learn and grow as a person through hard work and perseverance. Certainly, we must be careful to keep a balance in life and not take on too many responsibilities which may increase stress. Additionally, we must avoid complaining and grumbling – which we will talk about in tomorrow’s post.

Let’s teach out kids that work is not something to be avoided, but rather something to be embraced. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ (Colossians 3:23,24).” Find joy in your work by thinking of your work as an opportunity to serve Christ. When you have down days (which we all do), ask God to give you a fresh viewpoint or a new perspective to help you see a greater purpose in your work.

Some of the happiest people I know are also some of the hardest working people I know. Don’t avoid work, embrace it and discover a new strength and confidence as a result.

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How do you personally respond to the evil and injustice you see in this world? You have a choice. You can either be overcome with fear, despair, anger & bitterness, or you can choose hope. The Bible tells us to overcome evil with good. What does that look like in a practical sense? That’s what we are going to be talking about at Positive Woman Connection Bible Study as we finish up our study of Romans 12 on May 24. I hope you will join us. For more info click here.

 

 

The Beauty of Grace

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This week at Positive Woman Connection Bible Study, we are talking about the power of forgiveness and the beauty of God’s grace. The apostle Paul calls us to live with grace that goes beyond our human inclinations – to show kindness to those who do not deserve  it, even our enemies. But isn’t that just like God’s grace toward us?

Grace is a short word with a big meaning. Often we use the word to refer to gracious behavior or graceful dancing or even saying a meal time prayer, but grace represents the very reason for our joy as believers. In the Old Testament, we find the Hebrew word chen meaning kindness or favor. It was first used in Genesis (6:8), “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”  In the book of Ruth, I especially love how we find the word chen used by Ruth as she speaks to Boaz (her kinsman redeemer), “Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” What a beautiful picture of God’s grace toward us. Why should we as sinners find favor in the eyes of an all-Holy God? One word: Grace.

In the New Testament the Greek word for grace is charis referring to God’s unmerited favor. There are many spiritual implications from this one mighty word and to truly grasp its full meaning is to embrace the essence of Christianity. Grace is not about us, it is about God. B. B. Warfield said, “Grace is free sovereign favor to the ill-deserving.” Free is a very important part of understanding God’s grace. Other religions are not based on grace, they are based on working to please and make amends with their god or gods. The Christian faith is different. It is not based on our merit, but on God’s goodness, love and kindness toward us.

Although grace is free, it is not cheap. We must never take the grace of God for granted, but rather live in thankful obedience as a result of understanding this amazing and unmerited favor God has bestowed on us. A. W. Tozer wrote: “Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines him to bestow benefits on the undeserving.” Perhaps you have seen the acronym for GRACE: God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense, which is a great reminder of the high cost of God’s grace. John McArthur took it further by saying, “Grace is not merely unmerited favor; it is favor bestowed on sinners who deserve wrath. Showing kindness to a stranger is ‘unmerited favor’; doing good to one’s enemies is more the spirit of grace.”

Romans 5:1-2,6-8 describes our reason to rejoice:

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.…

…You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

For me personally, I find myself continually thankful and joyful because of this very passage describing God’s grace. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see! Because of His grace I desire to walk in fellowship with Him. Because of His grace, I am compelled to show grace to the people around me. What about you? How does God’s grace affect your daily life?

This is an excerpt from my book  Becoming a Woman of the Word