Don’t grumble or complain

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” Philippians 2:14-15 NIV

“It was cold, it was windy, it was hilly and it was a BLAST! I am so blessed to have Melissa Martinez Sharp and Bill Hardwick by my side to make every step of the Honoring Our Heroes Marathon much fun from start to finish!!” Those were the words my dear friend Gretchen posted Saturday after a 26.2 mile run that began with a feel-like temperature of 4° and ended with a temperature that didn’t feel much warmer because of the gusts of wind that plagued the three of us along the course. In fact, it was so frigid throughout the day that most people would have written something like this instead... “It was cold, it was windy, it was hilly and it was just awful from the beginning to the end.” With that being said, which person would you rather run a marathon with or spend time with? The one who smiles and laughs during hard times or the one who grumbles and complains about everything? I don’t know about you but I will always choose the person with joy.

And you know, when it comes to complaining about things, the Bible says that we are to “do everything without grumbling or arguing.” Why? Because our joyful attitude in all situations is what sets followers of Christ apart from others and compels people to be in our presence. You see, in this dark world, people are just naturally attracted to those people who shine the light of Jesus… those who shine “like stars in the sky.” They might not even understand that it’s the light of Jesus that shines through that draws them to us, only that they enjoy being around those people who are happy, uplifting, and encouraging.

So always choose joy my friend, by remembering that you can’t always control what’s happening around you but you CAN control the way you react to those things. And the way you and I react has the power to either draw people to Christ or to lead them away.

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that our words and actions have power. Fill us with your abundant joy Lord that it might flow out from us into the world. Help us to shine like stars in a dark world because of our decision to remain joyful, grateful and thankful in all situations. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!