To complain or not to complain?  Be Suzie Smiles-A-Lot or Rita Reality?  I do not like to complain to others because I have been in the receiving end of that.  Having known others that make complaining their trademark really turns me off of sharing my “issues” with others.  But I also know from experience that forcing those negativities down and wishing them away does not work either.  Depression can set in.  Anger explosions can happen.  So what am I to do?

Go to God?  But doesn’t God say not to be a complaining spirit? (Numbers 11:1, Philippians 2:14, 1 Peter 4:9)  The other option is to unload on those that are closest to me, my family.  They are family and can take it, right?  Then I put myself in my husband’s shoes.  Would I like to come home from work to be greeted with complaints about his day time and time again?  While I realize that having a husband as a helpmate and partner in life allows for some of that sharing of burdens it quickly becomes obvious to me that I do not want to abuse that feature of our marriage.  So I am back to Square One.  What do I do with my troubles?

I hit my knees, which I seem to always do when I do not know what to do.  It is here at the foot of Jesus that I can realize the reality of 1 Peter 5:7, ” Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” and Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Reading many of David’s Psalms reaffirms that unloading my concerns to God is the way to go.  That guy could really complain!  That is not to say that he did not have a lot on his plate.  But David’s pleas end in recognition of how God meets him where he is and provides for his needs in that moment.  “When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way.” (Psalm 142:3)

It has taken time for me to realize that it is not the complaining that God does not like it is my lack of trust that He will care for me and my unwillingness to leave those worries there.  How can Jesus heal me if I continue to reopen the wound?

Thanksgivings and praises are certainly offerings to God but so are my worries when I entrust them to Him.  Faith in His grace and mercy will bring peace to my soul and glory to my Father.