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In December 2024, I became aware that I tend to be a negative person. I don’t know if you would call it a pessimist or a defeatist or what, but I tend to always assume the worst. For example, I can recall times even back when I was in high school that I would essentially “give up” once our team got behind because I assumed that it was inevitable that we would lose.
Now as an adult, those negative thoughts have taken over, and often my first thought about something is negative—I hate doing the dishes; I don’t want to go to that activity; it’s too much work to prepare for something, so I just avoid it altogether. This attitude of negativity has started to creep into every area of my life, affecting my relationships, my work, my volunteer activities. These constant negative thoughts are not at all pleasing to God. And now that I’m aware of it, I know it needs to change.
So this year (and for the rest of my life), I want to be intentional about transforming my mind:
Romans 12:2: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
I want to focus on two areas in particular: not complaining or grumbling, and having an attitude of thankfulness or gratitude. (But note the timing of this article…this isn’t intended to be a New Year’s resolution. By this time of the year, most people have given up on those already. I want this to be a life-long change.)
Maybe you need this transforming focus too. So I’ve done a bit of research to find verses about complaining and grumbling as well as having an attitude of thankfulness or gratitude. I’ll list verses for complaining and grumbling this week and will provide verses about thankfulness and gratitude next week. These won’t be complete lists, but they will at least set your mind in the right direction.
What does the Bible say about grumbling and complaining?
Old Testament
Exodus 16:6-8: 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”
Psalm 106:24-27: 24 Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the Lord.
26 So he swore to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands.
Numbers 11:1-2: 1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites often grumbled against God—and God heard them. They grumbled when they were in the wilderness because they didn’t have food, meat, or water. They grumbled against God anytime anything wasn’t going perfectly their way. At times, God relented and provided them food or water or military victory. Other times, God’s anger rained down on them in the form of snakes, fire, or plague. The Israelites often didn’t think about the fact that their complaining and grumbling was directly at God rather than their human leaders. These stories about the Israelites grumbling are sufficient to conclude that God does not look favorably on those who grumble and complain.
New Testament
Philippians 2:14-16: 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
James 5:9: Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
1 Peter 4:9: Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
1 Timothy 2:8: Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.
John 6:41-44: 41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
Colossians 3:23-24: 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
In the New Testament, we are warned to do everything without grumbling or complaining. Instead, we should do everything with all our heart, knowing that we are serving God by our actions and our attitudes. That doesn’t leave much room for complaining!
Join me on my transformed mind journey!
If you are interested in following my journey as I work to transform my mind, join me over on Substack Notes. You can access my notes through the Substack app, or you can see them on Grounded in the Bible’s Notes tab.
I have been posting one verse each day (or at least, most days) that will help me transform my mind. These verses may be about topics such as avoiding grumbling and complaining, being thankful, and renewing my mind, or they may be verses related to the Characteristics of God or that give worship to God. Whatever they are, they will be geared toward thanksgiving and transformation. And because I know that it’s easy to be inspired at the beginning of the year and lose steam quickly, I did all my research now and will pull a verse out of the bucket each day to meditate on and share (almost 400 verses in total!).
Come back next week to read verses related to gratitude and thanksgiving!
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