Monday, October 11, 2010

Grumbler or Lamenter

I've always been an optimist.

But lately....

I've found my heart being pulled by cynicism in times when contentment should reign.

I don't want to be a grumbler...but often when I experience a single hardship or inconvenience, or my life feels less than easy, I'm quick to grumble.

I do not want to allow grumbling to become a part of who I am. 

Why?

Because life can be genuinely hard. It's messy. In this world we will have trouble.

David, Job and Jeremiah saw trouble in their day.  What did they do?

They lamented.

I've been reading Helpful Truths in Past Places by Mark Deckard. He gives a great comparison between the Grumbler and the Lamenter that I thought I would share with you. 

I pray that on that day when real trouble comes I'm practiced in art of lamenting; That I wouldn't allow grumbling to be the catalyst which allows my suffering to be wasted. Grumbles are just empty words on the wind, but when I come to the Giver of all good things with my laments, I allow room for growth and strength, to the Glory of God. 

Happy Monday....

9 comments:

Carpool Queen said...

Crud. I landed on the wrong side of the fence.

Tracey said...

Lamenter 1, Grumbler 6...ugh.

Andrea said...

I totally can relate lol

O Mom said...

Wow! I honestly thought I wasnt much of a grumbler. But then looking at the things on the grumbler side...I do alot of them. Thanks for the eye opener today.

Gretchen said...

I lament that I may just be a grumbler. Sigh.

Candace said...

SOOOOOOO good. Thank you for sharing this. This is such a big deal- the position of our hearts. Thank you.

Candace said...

And no worries, CPQ, I've been on the wrong side of the fence some, too. But I'm sure if we ask, the Lord will be very kind to give us a boost to the other side!

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

Eye-opening stuff, Kellie. Thanks for sharing. It's just really about the posture of our hearts isn't it? I'd never made the distinction.

Anonymous said...

Great post! My bible study is going through the book Lord Change my Attitude before its too Late. The first chapter is about complaining and man was it tough.. if you read back through when the Jews were in the dessert and how they complained about different things and God's reaction to that! The 2nd chapter was about how to change a complaining heart into a content heart! This chart goes along perfectly w/ that!