"No Complaints"
They put to me the question,
Ae you doing okay?
I wondered when they asked me,
What on earth I’d say.
‘Cause mostly I’m generic,
And say I’m doing fine,
But that’s a bit dishonest,
There’s pain some of the time.
What can I say that’s truthful,
But doesn’t go too low,
I prayed the Lord would tell me,
So I could clearly know.
A good friend shared the answer,
Didn’t know it at the time,
He said that he had no complaints,
When asked if he was fine.
No complaints, that’s truthful,
And plenty thankful, too,
No matter what Is going on,
Or happening to you.
Does not pretend perfection,
Does not gloss over need,
But says that I am learning,
To plant a thankful seed.
And the Good Book does support it,
When Paul was hanging out in jail,
He wrote y’all stop complaining,
Or else your light will fail.
And those old Hebrew children,
When they murmured and complained,
Provoked the Lord that led them,
When they His will disdained.
So I sure got my answer,
When they ask are you okay?
I really tell them, no complaints,
It’s what I’ve learned to say.
“Do everything without complaining and arguing…” (Phil. 2:14, NLT)
Paul wrote it from a cell in Rome, so it wasn’t just his talk. It was his walk, for sure. But honestly, how do you do everything without complaining? One way is to realize that how we respond or react to situations becomes our habit of behavior. So if you habitually complain it’s your default position that needs to be unlearned. Recognizing it is half the battle. A second way would be to cultivate the habit of thankfulness. Again, not always the easiest task but certainly within reach. A third way, and this is the best of all, is to actually ask the Lord to empower us to stop complaining and start praising the Lord, anyhow. Everything we stop doing needs to be replaced by something better. Stop complaining, and replace it with no complaints.
Lord, help us stop complaining and start praising You, in Jesus’ name.
Photo by Brent Prince, used by permission. Thanks, Brent, and God bless you.