Get Up With God
highly caffeinated daily bible doses to help start your morning off right

Here’s a little prayer to conclude NO GRUMBLING WEEK . . .

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER,

Please forgive me for all my
grumbling, whining and complaining.

Please fill me with the Spirit,
so that I can help bring
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness and
self-control
into this dark world.

Please help me
rejoice always
pray continually
give thanks for everything
be content in all situations and
praise you with every single breath.

AMEN

It’s NO GRUMBLING WEEK here on GUWG.

I don’t know about you, but I find that when I’m tired I’m especially prone to grumpiness and stress.

If I were to type the way I feel at those times, there would be lots of CAPITAL LETTERS and UNDERLINING and BOLD FONT and ITALICS, capped off with an excess of EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!! It’s like EVERY LITTLE THING gets MAGNIFIED and BLOWN WAAAAAAAAY OUT OF PROPORTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don’t let that happen to you. Here’s what Jesus says:

Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28)

REST WITH JESUS TODAY

It’s NO GRUMBLING WEEK here on GUWG.

Ever feel like you’re running on empty?

I find that I’m most prone to grumble when I try to navigate life under my own power. Here’s what we get when we let our sinful nature take the wheel: “hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy” (Galatians 5:20-21).

What should we do? Use an alternative fuel source . . .

BE
the fruit of the Spirit
FILLED
is love, joy, peace,
WITH
patience, kindness, goodness,
THE
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
SPIRIT

(Ephesians 5:18b, Galatians 5:22)

It’s NO GRUMBLING WEEK here on GUWG.

Whenever you feel like griping, groaning or grousing, flip open the Psalms. They’re packed with praise.

Here’s a mere sampling:

The Lord lives!
Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
(Psalm 18:46)

Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.
(Psalm 30:4)

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
(Psalm 41:13)

Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
(Psalm 47:6)

I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
I will praise you in the presence of your saints.
(Psalm 52:9)

Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!
(Psalm 66:2)

My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.
(Psalm 71:8)

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
(Psalm 103:1-2)

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good; his love endures forever.
(Psalm 106:1)

From the rising of the sun
to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
(Psalm 113:3)

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
(Psalm 139:14)

Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
(Psalm 146:1-2)

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
(Psalm 150:6)

GOT BREATH?
USE IT TO PRAISE GOD!

It’s NO GRUMBLING WEEK here on GUWG. Here are today’s anti-whining verses:

But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into the world,
and we can take nothing out of it.
But if we have food and clothing,
we will be content with that.
(1 Timothy 6:6-8)

A big source of my grumbling is that I want stuff I don’t have. Here’s a conversation I have far too often with myself: He has a cool ___________. Why can’t I? Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.

That violates one of God’s Big Ten: don’t covet. God knows what’s best for us. He gives us all we need.

I love The Message‘s take on these verses:

A devout life does bring wealth,
but it’s the rich simplicity
of being yourself before God.
Since we entered the world penniless
and will leave it penniless,
if we have bread on the table
and shoes on our feet,
that’s enough.

BE CONTENT WITH GOD

Yesterday, we kicked off NO GRUMBLING WEEK here on GUWG.

We started off with a pair of Bible verses that make it clear that grumbling, whining and complaining are bad things. We then issued a challenge: we asked all of our grumble-prone readers to (1) pinch themselves every time they felt a grumble coming on and instead (2) recite one of the verses.

I reported that by 7:14 a.m. I had already pinched myself four times. That number hit approximately 2,769 by the time I called it a day. But — with God’s help — I had managed to reduce my daily grumbling by an estimated 83.1%.

I received Twitter “tweets” reporting grumble-prevention-pinching going on all over the world. One person called for No Grumbling Week to be sanctioned by Congress as an annual national celebration. (If anyone knows Nancy Pelosi, please let me know.)

Today, I thought I’d offer a biblically approved antidote to grumbling. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you live out this verse moment by moment today.

Be joyful always;
pray continually:
give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

How often are we supposed to be joyful? Always.

When should we pray? Continually.

What should we thank God for? Everything.

It’s hard to grumble when you’re joyful, praying and giving thanks!

Do everything without complaining or arguing.
(Philippians 2:14)

Don’t grumble against each other, brothers,
or you will be judged.
(James 5:9)

This week is officially NO GRUMBLING WEEK here on GUWG.

I woke up this morning in a rather foul mood, feeling overwhelmed by all the work I have to do this week. Here’s what came out of my mouth . . .

Grumble
Grumble
Grumble
Complain
Complain
Complain
Whine
Whine
Whine
RrrrrrrGggRRrrGgggggggggggggggGGGGGGhhhhhhh

Maybe you’re feeling a bit like me. If so, please join me in reciting the following pledge.

I, [state your name],
do hereby solemnly vow,
that every time I feel a grumble coming on this week,
I will suppress said grumble,
pinch myself hard
and recite one of the above verses instead.

Thank you for your participation in this important endeavor.

(Update: It’s 7:14 a.m. and I have already pinched myself 4 times. Yikes.)

It’s GOD @ WORK WEEK here at GUWG, where we’re taking an in-depth look at what the Bible says about the wonderful world of work.

Today’s topic: COMMUNICATION. Almost nothing is more important in the workplace. Here’s what the Bible says . . .

Listen More Than You Talk. “A wise man listens to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15) “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19) Or, as some around me are fond of saying: “God gave you two ears and one mouth — use ‘em accordingly.”

Don’t Grumble. “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” (Philippians 2:14) Click here for a whole week’s worth of anti-grumbling suggestions.

Spread Encouragement. “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” (Proverbs 12:25) “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24)

Don’t Spread Gossip. “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.” (Proverbs 20:19) “Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.” (Proverbs 26:20)

Speak the Truth in Love. Always, always, always tell the truth. And always, always, always do it with love. “Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15)

COMMUNICATE GOD’S WAY

It’s Wednesday. According to lots of polls, it’s the worst day of the week and the day on which people do the most grumbling.

Let’s live differently today . . .

Shout for joy to Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
(Psalm 100)

Ask the Spirit to fill your day with exclamation points . . .

SHOUT for joy!

WORSHIP with gladness!!

THANK God!!!

PRAISE Him!!!!

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!