Complaining and Grumbling

I have been reading a book called "Notes to Self" by Joe Thorn. It is an excellent read. He writes notes to himself on such things as fear, doubt, idolatry and a whole host of other categories. His writing is short but precise.  One chapter that caught my attention is the one called "Stop Complaining." Scripture has much to say about grumbling and never is it called good by God. In fact if we truly believe that God is omniscient He hears every word we speak and even knows the ones we don't.  Thorn says sometimes we want to call it harmless venting.  But such a name is a lie and one that bothers God. Complaining doesn't please the Lord to put it in its most concise summary.

To complain is to undermine God's loving sovereignty in our lives. It is to tell Him that somehow He isn't doing right by us.  God grants many blessings of grace such as life itself.  The minor annoyances that come are way are usually the ones that trip us up the most. With tragedy we typically draw closer to the Lord. But in every day life we get confident in our flesh and are more likely to sweat the small stuff and grumble while we do.  It is also our reactions to the small stuff that most people see day in and day out.  It is hypocritical to say that God handles the big stuff but somehow isn't up to the small things about which we grumble. By bringing the Gospel to bear on every aspect of our lives--small and large--we can respond in ways that honor God.  God has purpose in the inconvenient and petty annoyances; He uses it to transform us into Christlikeness and thus deeper fellowship with the Lord.