Guest post by author Julia Kay
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalms 23:5-6 (KJV)
I dislike admitting this, but I’m inclined to complain. About the weather, our country’s political situation, and rude behavior. I complain about traffic, lack of professionalism, and poor customer service. My busy life—and the list goes on. If complainer’s calisthenics were a sport, I would be ready for the Olympics. Trust me, complaining is not my only deficit. Lately, however, I have been convicted of this behavior more than any other. After all, “complaining isn’t a spiritual gift.” Thank you, Joyce Meyer, for that reminder.
God keeps reinforcing the importance of gratitude—the exact opposite of complaining. He reveals himself to me, sometimes in the strangest ways, knowing complaining is not an easy habit to overcome. Take this morning, for example. I filled my teacup. And when I say “filled,” I mean hot liquid licked the brim. Naturally, it spilled out when I carried the cup to the table, and while I cleaned the mess, grumbling poured from my lips. The incident spiked a fever pitch onslaught of irritation and lamenting, like David in Psalm 22. Except my incident was spilled tea, not extreme affliction and persecution.
My hands circled the drink and the words in Psalm 23 swirled through my mind. “My cup runneth over.” Then came the moment—a revelation—an epiphany. I envisioned an empty cup and realized that if I had an empty cup, I’d have nothing to spill. Is that what I wanted? An empty cup?
Am I truly going to complain about my excess? Isn’t that the reason God fills my cup in the first place? To spill out for the sake of others?
Here’s the rub. Culture bombards us with encouragement to relax, to play more, to indulge every chance we get. We are encouraged to demand “me” time and work less. Work has become a dirty word, something we are consistently told to avoid. Yet, that is not what I find in the Bible. It speaks of sacrifice and selflessness. Sure, we need rest—the kind we receive when in the presence of our Creator.
What if everyone everywhere became grateful for opportunities, thankful for help, and had an attitude of gratitude with every single aspect of their lives? What if we started counting off the blessings every morning before our feet hit the floor and before our bodies drifted off to sleep? Imagine what would happen in our hometowns, in our state, and in our country if gratitude started “trending.” Do you know where it begins? With me. And with you.
Julia Kay holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Southwest Baptist University and MFA from Lindenwood University. She lives in Missouri with her husband and has four children. She is a columnist and blogger, but also wields her pen to write fiction that explores the human condition and the extraordinary love of God.
Contact information includes:
Website: www.juliakayauthor.com
Email: info@juliakayauthor.com