https://www.facebook.com/thekimberlyjoy/videos/541040719581667/(THE KIMBERLY JOY SHOW: The No-Complaining Challenge)
THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE BEAUTIFUL, THE UGLY
“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20 – New Living Translation)
As the verse states, we are to give God thanks for EVERYTHING! Everything Kim? Yes, EVERYTHING! The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly! Consider Job in the Bible. In Job chapter one, He lost basically everything!
First, he lost his riches. When his employees were attacked and killed, the attackers stole all his oxen, donkeys, sheep, and camels. So, he lost the things and people which helped produce his wealth.
Job also found himself suffering physically when he developed boils all over his body. If you’re not familiar with boils, they are deep, localized skin infections that start off being tender and red and then later become firm, hard and increasingly painful, (https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/boils_skin_infection). This day and time, boils can be treated. Unfortunately during Job’s time, he just had to suffer through it.
To make matters worse, Job lost all his children in one freak accident! Anyone who has ever had the unfortunate experience of losing a child will acknowledge it is the worst pain anyone can go through. Having children truly teaches you how to love unconditionally. So, just imagine losing ALL your children at once!
However, despite his tremendous loss, in Job 1:21 (NLT), Job somehow managed to muster up a praise to God. Oh yes! He STILL praised God!
“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!”
In other words, Job said, “I just lost all my wealth. I went from being rich to poor. But God You are still worthy of my praise!
All my children have been killed, my offspring, my heirs, my heartbeats. But, I still say thank You LORD!”
Many who haven’t lost and suffered nearly as much as Job find themselves being angry with God instead of thankful if they get laid off from work or if their car gets repossessed! However, a person who chooses to be thankful might say, “I may have lost my job, but I still have my health. This must mean God has something better in store for me! So, I thank You God in advance! I may have lost my car, but I still have legs to walk. I can walk to the bus stop and catch the city bus if I have to.
I’m not going to let this minor setback stop me from living or take me into a state of depression. And I’m definitely not going to let it stop my praise!”
When we choose to be thankful, even in the midst of the storm, it’s because we recognize that God is still God, no matter what, and He owes us NOTHING! That’s right! God owes us nothing! We were created to worship HIM!
IS REMAINING THANKFUL AN EASY TASK?
Remaining thankful in the midst of hardships and disappointments is not an easy task. Nevertheless, it can be done! It’s something you have to do intentionally. You have to thank the Lord and maintain what I like to call “An Attitude of Gratitude” ON PURPOSE! It reminds me of the following photo I re-posted on social media recently. I shared the photo simply to encourage people, which is something I try to do as often as possible.
After I shared the post, one of my Facebook friends stated that following those tips was easier said than done. I understood where she was coming from and in my response, I said that I used to think the same way until I chose to trust God and change the way I think and speak. I went on to explain that it’s something I have to practice every day.
Although it’s not easy to remain positive and thankful in every situation, as believers we can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). Also, James 1:22 states that we have to put the Word of God in to practice. Like the old saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” The more you do something with consistency, the easier it becomes.
In my previous article “Be Thankful,” I challenged everyone to spend their daily prayer time thanking God instead of presenting Him with a to-do list.
Whenever I choose to spend time just thanking God, He shows up in a TREMENDOUS way! I feel such peace and joy in just a matter of minutes.
WHAT IS THE NO-COMPLAINING CHALLENGE?
For this upcoming week, I challenge you to refrain from complaining. Yes, NO COMPLAINING! I know sometimes we feel a need to vent. “I just got to get this off my chest!!!” But, do you really have to or do you just want to? There’s a difference!
Please recognize that complaining doesn’t welcome the presence of God into your situation. It’s not about glorifying God, but gratifying the flesh. From personal experience, I can say that when I choose not to complain, even when I want to, I soon feel better. Why? By NOT complaining, I’m refusing to give that negativity any power. Think about it! For instance, if a co-worker upsets you, and you go on and on complaining about it, you’re just giving that person power over you. You’re allowing him or her to occupy unnecessary space in your mind. Now, is that something you really want to do? My guess is NO!
I understand there are times when we need to address certain issues. For example, if a restaurant tries to serve you burnt food, you shouldn’t have to pay for it.
Nonetheless, even in such a situation I encourage you to be mindful of your attitude, tone of voice and choice of words. You can still handle that situation in love. Remember, we are to be representatives for Jesus Christ.
So, again this week, NO COMPLAINING! It’s my prayer that you will, therefore, experience more love, joy and peace, that God will speak to you like He’s never spoken to you before and that He will move tremendously in your life!
THE PRAYER OF SALVATION
If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you can do so right now. I then encourage you to find a good Bible-believing church that will help you grow in your relationship with the Lord.
Romans 10:9 (NIV) says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Please pray the following prayer:
Dear Jesus, I come to You confessing I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe You shed Your blood on the cross and died for my sins, were buried and rose again so I could be free! Please forgive me for my sins and the life I have lived. I confess You Jesus as Lord and accept You as my own personal Savior. According to the Word of God, I am now saved! Hallelujah! I AM FREE!
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF GOD!!!!!
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Needless to say, as a child of God, I must possess this attitude beyond the holiday season. In fact, it is my daily goal. Although I sometimes fall short, through prayer, praise and reading God’s Word, I find myself becoming more grateful.
Even as a teenager, I enjoyed the music, the singing, the high praise, and powerful preaching. I especially loved witnessing someone accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, get healed, or even delivered. I would cry as if it were me standing at the altar. However, I didn’t always maintain that same attitude of praise once the service ended. Why? I didn’t have what I like to now call an Attitude of Gratitude. I wasn’t continually grateful; instead of appreciating all the blessings I had, I focused on what I didn’t have.
Nevertheless, I would allow myself to have moments of depression because of the one thing I felt like was missing from my life……………A HUSBAND! I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit it now, but it’s the truth! Although I had so many other great blessings, I believed that I couldn’t truly be happy until I had a man in my life. In fact, there were times I REFUSED to be happy! I thought that if I cried long enough and hard enough, that God would grant me my wish (as if God were a “genie in a bottle”). I was foolishly waiting for a man to make me happy when I could just choose to be happy by having an Attitude of Gratitude. My situation reminds me of Adam and Eve in the third chapter of Genesis. They had all those delightful trees at their disposal, but they just HAD to eat from the tree God told them to leave alone. They became so fixated on that ONE tree, that they failed to appreciate the ABUNDANCE God had already given them! 
As Nehemiah 8:10 says, the joy of the Lord is my strength! Moreover, my relationship with God is stronger than ever, which is more important to me than anything or anyone in this world. No one can love me and take care of me like God can!