Griping

“Most folks are about as happy as they
make up their minds to be.”

~ Abraham Lincoln ~

Griping 

Last week, actually the last month or so something terrible happened to us .(more on that debacle comming soon)
Which would explain the cryptic messages I ‘ve been leaving on my FB status’.
 Also my inactivity on weigh in Tuesday page and putting up new videos and articles.
 As a result I’ve found myself in a bad funk. I am struggling to regain some resemblance
 of normalcy around the house.  For instance family worship, consistent home-schooling lessons,the laundry, the ironing, meal planning and the like.

At first I reacted faithfully.I prayed and trusted that God would handle all the details. As time went on and more
 obstructions surfaced, I began to think that I would never dig my way out of it all.
 Cracks started to seep through my  happy wife and mommy face and I donned  an angry,
bitter, loathing in self- pity woe- is- me sack cloth and ashes face.

I was at breaking point and rather than turning to comfort food I left my house and went to a friend’s house
 hoping to be able to get some tea and sympathy only to find my friend in a worse state than me.
I tried to encourage her with the text I’d been studying that day about Leah. Genesis 29:31-35 .
Leah kept wanting her husband’s love by giving birth to sons, but some thing changed in her.
By the fourth child she stopped looking to man and focused instead on God and praising him.
That’s why she named  her fourth born son JUDAH the Hebrew meaning Praise

This gave me reason to pause. I then drove down to a homeless soup kitchen 20 miles away to Southend -on-Sea that weekend.
I went hoping to be a blessing but I was amazed by how God used these people
 who were in a worse situation than I to bless me.

It was then on the journey home in my little car ,MACY
I shed tears as I came face to face with my issues.Here is what I came to realise.

        -I had become very negative –
and was harbouring un-forgiveness in my heart toward the people who had wilfully
 inflicted pain on my family and I last month.
 I needed to stop griping and get an attitude readjustment darn skippity!

A Change of Mind

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
 by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
 (Romans 12:2)

This past summer I learned a very valuable lesson in my garden,
 If you plant mint it can quickly spread and take over your whole garden.
 So to negative thoughts, like the mint if left unchecked, can easily take over
our mind and the result is a negative, worldly, me –focused mindset.
What continues to amaze me is that every problem we face on this earth
has already being experienced and  The bible provides us with answers as to how to deal with our issues.
 The Apostle Paul revealed a weapon we can use to combat   this type of thinking by renewing our mind.
Basically , retraining ourselves to think the way God desires us to .
If I was  to change my attitude  I had to start  to renew my mind with God’s way of thinking.

Then I began to ponder  —what exactly did God want me to start thinking about?

A Change of Heart

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
 are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely,
 whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise, think on these things..” (Philippians 4:8)

Its just so clearly expressed  in this scripture. In   order to have a change of heart
I must centre my thoughts on things that are godly ,optimistic and virtuous  .
This is the way God desires me to think.
My perception on things tends to form my response to any given situation.
 If I frequently think negatively,  I will react to different situations  in a negative way.
In due course my negativity gives way to pessimism and pessimism gives way to unbelief.
The end result is that I view my situation as impossible and my
 faith then begins a downward spiral.
On the  flip side godly thinking , directly links to a faithful attitude, which then goes on to faithful reactions.

A Change of line of attack

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ;
.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

How do you keep pessimistic, depressing thoughts from attacking your mind?
As the text says, take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
 So I decided to employ this scripture to combat  these  harmful thoughts.
When  a negative thought comes into my head I examine it recognise its source 
and combat it with a promise of God for instance this favourite of mine penned by the prophet Isaiah
 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and
every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment
thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
 and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
”(Isaiah 54:17)

Some people say God did this to me or He tempted me. However as expressed in the
story of Job we can look behind the heavenly curtain and see that
Satan is the one who tempts us and causes destruction.  Job was totally bankrupt,
lossed his ten children in a storm,his servants were killed by robbers who robbed him of all his livestock.
 Even his wife and friends said to him just give up your foolish faith in God. Behind the scenes
it was Satan causing these circumstances. See the full story Job1:1-22 of how the devil
operates his tactics hasn’t changed much in six thousand years . To those around it seems
as though we are forsaken by GOD but just hold on your deliverance is near.I really like verse 22

“In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” Job1:22

You gotta love that response. That takes an immovable, unshakable faith in God something we can all aspire to
when faced with an impossible situation and plagued by negative thoughts.

“There hath no temptation taken you but
 such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
 who will not suffer you to
 be tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it. “
1Corinthians 10:13

So if in your past you have trained yourself to be this way you need to retrain yourself.
 Just keep practicing this and with prayer you can overcome. We live in sin-ridden,decaying ,
fallen world and as such  seemingly insurmountable circumstances are a fact of life.
Whether you are a Christian or not. Lets face it if these trials were absent life would be BORING. 
 It’s how we know that the blood still courses through our veins and are assured that we are indeed alive.

 We can give in to our circumstances. We can say I’m an alcoholic because
 my mother was an alcoholic or I’m a gang banger because I am fatherless ,
I was molested by my uncle so now I am a prostitute or whatever
our past was that we think gives us the permission for continuing to live in our sin.
I challenge YOU today to forgive them that have hurt you and end the cycle here and now .
Joseph was one man in the bible who had every reason to be depressed and give up on life.
Joseph didn’t say because my father gave me that technicolour coat that all this happened to me.
No! he responded in Genesis 50:20 saying

“But as for you, ye thought evil against me;
 but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass
, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
 
What others tried to break YOU with , God can turn it around to fulfil His purpose. If you discover
 that pessimistic thoughts have started to affect your attitude, don’t let it get you down in the dumps .
Fight back with positive affirmations from God’s Word. I’ll leave you with this Pauline text
 

31 What shall we then say to these things?
 If God be for us, who can be against us?
32   He that spared not his own Son, but
 delivered him up for us all,
 how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:31-32

So stop your griping today and get a grip!

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