Harold couldn’t remember when his attitude first turned negative. It was just his natural inclination. It never had been important until his neighbor stopped by and complimented him on his wonderful harvest. “You must be extremely happy with this year’s harvest,” the neighbor had said. Harold had frowned as he replied, “Well, yes, it looks like a pretty good one, but a bumper crop is awfully hard on the soil.”
The Holy Spirit had struck Harold’s conscious. For the rest of the day, he had worked around his farm unable to think of anything else. Was he ungrateful for God’s blessings? That evening, after supper, his Bible seemed to naturally open at Numbers, chapter eleven. He read verse one, “And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.” Num. 11:1 (ESV) Harold’s eyes widened as he read. When the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled. Harold wondered if the Lord was angry with him and his negative attitude.
Instead of seeing the blessings that were his on a daily basis, Harold seemed to find something wrong in them all. His heart humbled before God. He knelt at his chair and asked God to forgive him his negativity and ingratitude.
Like Harold and Jacob’s children, we tend to focus on the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic of the past (Num. 6:11) rather than our present blessings. Doesn’t that rate as ingratitude? If we grumble instead of thanking and praising God for present goodness, doesn’t that show a lack of appreciation? Granted, we may be able to find more negatives than positives, when we survey our world, but which will propel us forward the most? Which will drag us down the most?
Someone has said, “Some people go through life standing at the complaint counter.” Are you one of those people? Is it possible that we let ourselves be distracted by the disappointments and deprivations that God allows in our lives? Remember, all of them are working for our good! Perhaps when we grumble, we should remind ourselves of momma’s words, “there is always someone worse off.”
Dear Father, thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you for being merciful in our ungratefulness. Forgive us for our times of negativity and ungrateful attitudes. Empower us to be positive and grateful for all things and situations. Enable us to see the blessing that underlies every deficiency and obstacle in our lives. This I pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Let us praise God for everything and live positive, grateful lives,
Pastor Smith