Monday, February 2, 2015

A Lesson from Unbroken

"It's too cold." 

"I'm soooo tired."

"I don't want to go to work."

"Eww, that's gross."

All of these little phrases may or may not sound familiar. I know they do from me. These little guys are known as "complaints". Something we may not even think about as these words flow out of our mouths every single day.

Recently, me and my siblings went to see the film 'Unbroken' in the theatre. I highly recommend it by the way. It's a remarkable story of a soldier who went through an unimaginable couple years of difficulty during his lifetime. Stuff that we don't see hardly at all these days. For a more detailed synopsis of the movie you can look it up. Or even just go see the movie. :)

But I was convicted about how much stuff during the day that we take for granted. How many little things that we complain about.

"Great. Look at all this snow." 

A recent one, for many of us I'm sure! Instead of complaining about the snow. We could be thanking God for such a beautiful creation of His.

Instead of focusing on how cold it is. We could be thankful to God that we have heat. And a roof to cover our head.

We get so caught up in the little trivial things that aren't what WE like, or what WE want to do. And we complain about it. When in reality there are people that are in much worse conditions than us. We are truly blessed in America. The freedom we have that other places do not. The resources that are available to us, that other places don't have.

I pray that I would complain less, and be thankful more. That God would give me a heart of thankfulness. And joy when things aren't going my way or tough times come, that I would give thank and praise God in the good times, and the bad.

Psalm 100:4 - "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

Colossians 3:17 - "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

~JD