Shine Without Grumbling | Daily Devotional 1639

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1639. Today's Devo is called Shine Without Grumbling.

Hey there, we're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy, the to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why every weekday we share a five-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast.

Happy Thursday, everyone. Stephanie's still here. And again, I just want to thank you guys for constantly listening. If you really enjoy our podcast, please go subscribe to our Buy Me a Coffee. It is going to give you exclusive access to our newsletters, which are amazing. You get them in your email every week, and to our bonus episodes of my sisters and I and us being really, really dumb and fun. And you're going to really enjoy us. We're a fun group of people, I promise. So go subscribe to our Buy Me a Coffee if you are enjoying our episodes. But today we're going to continue in our series on Philippians 2. I pray that this has been encouraging you. Please put in the comments if there's anything that has stuck out, anything that has really brought you the encouragement you need this week. I love to hear feedback so I know what to speak on and what to give to you guys. So let's dive into it. Philippians 2, 14 through 18. And it says in the NIV version, do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure. If this is hard for you, then listen closely, okay, people. Children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation, then you will shine among them like stars in the sky, 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. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. I have a question for you. Have you ever done the right thing, but with the wrong attitude completely? You helped, but you complained the whole time. You served, but you made sure everybody knew how inconvenient it was. You showed up, but your face told everybody that you did not want to be there. You obeyed, but reluctantly. I saw an Instagram reel of a guy saying, I'm I'm a complaining son. I'm not gonna, I'm gonna do what you told me to do, but I'm gonna complain about it the entire time. That is 100% me. I am that person. And I think most of us have definitely been there with the faces that show we don't want to be here doing what we're doing. Philippians 2.14 says, do everything without grumbling or arguing. And I have to admit, the word that makes this verse very difficult to me is the everything part. Because Paul does not say, do the things you enjoy without complaining, and he doesn't say serve without complaining when people appreciate you. Oof. And he does not say, don't complain when everything is going according to plan. He says to do everything without grumbling or arguing. And then Paul tells us why. And he says that when we live differently, we will shine among them like stars in the sky. Let me tell you this: your attitude at work, at church, with your family, it truly is a part of your witness. And sometimes we think that our witness is only what we say, but people sometimes aren't listening to what we say about Jesus. They're watching how we act out the principles of Jesus. And they're especially watching when things don't go our way. They're watching how we respond when we are inconvenienced, how we respond when someone else gets the credit that maybe we deserved. How we respond when we're asked to do something that we do not want to do. You can do something incredibly generous and still have an attitude that takes the joy out of it. Because obedience isn't only about what I am doing, it's also about the heart that I'm doing it with. And Paul says that we live in a warped and crooked generation. In other words, guys, we are surrounded by complaining. We're surrounded by arguing. Open up Instagram for two seconds and you're gonna see an argument. You're surrounded by negativity. So when someone chooses joy, gratitude, and humility, they stand out. Let me rephrase that. When you choose joy, gratitude, and humility, you stand out. You shine like the stars in the sky. And you don't have to announce your light, you just shine. I love the picture that Paul gives us. He says that we shine like stars in the sky. And at night, when you look up at the stars, the stars don't have to yell, hey, look at us, look up, we're here. Do you see me? No, it just shines. And because everything around it is dark, you finally notice it. And that's what our lives should look like. Maybe you walk into the workplace where everybody complains about the boss, but you don't. Sometimes your family is arguing, but you choose peace. Maybe you're serving at church and everybody is exhausted, but you bring the joy. Maybe you're in a season you did not choose, waiting for something that you've been desperately praying for, but you choose gratitude anyway. You don't have to preach a sermon to your friends or your family to show the light that is happening inside of you. Sometimes your attitude is preaching that sermon for you. Sometimes that joy and that gratitude and the peace, that alone is the sermon of Jesus. And let me encourage you, don't let complaining steal the joy of serving. I want to read my notes here verbatim because this is really powerful. Paul describes his life as being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of their faith. Paul is essentially saying, if my life is poured out serving Jesus and serving you, I'm glad about it. That is such a different mentality. Our culture often asks, what am I getting out of this? But Paul is asking, what can I pour out? That is the heart of a servant. And pouring yourself out doesn't mean having no boundaries, never resting, or trying to prove your worth through exhaustion. Hallelujah. Anybody out there? It means recognizing that a life given to God is not a wasted life. God sees it all. And then Paul says eventually, I do not labor in vain. That's the perspective we need. Instead of saying, I have to go and do this again, what if we said, God, thank you that I get to serve? Instead of saying, Why is nobody helping me today? What if we prayed, God, give me the joy and a heart of joy that enjoys pouring myself out? Instead of saying, My boss, my work, my co-workers, my family, my spouse, they never appreciate what I do. What if we remembered my service isn't wasted just because it isn't noticed? So here's the challenge for you today. Pay attention to your complaints. Pay attention to your arguing. Pay attention to your grumbling. As I'm recording this devotional, they're waving my baby in front of me who is calling out for me desperately. I need to go feed him. Just notice if you're complaining. If you hear yourself saying, I have to go to work, change that to, I get to go to work because God has blessed me with a job that a lot of people desperately want. Instead of saying, I have to take care of these kids, instead say, God has blessed me with my beautiful children and my family that a lot of people are praying for. Instead of saying, nobody notices what I do, instead say, thank you, God, that you see what nobody else sees. And then watch that you start to shine these traits of Jesus. And people will start asking you, whatever you have, I want it. How do you shine like that? How do you have so much peace? How do you have so much joy? Trust me, it's happening right now. I had a friend come to me the other day say, I'm bringing my friend to church because she came to me and said, I want whatever you want. You are showing so much peace and joy in your life out of nowhere. And she says, it's because of Jesus. So watch, when you start to change those complaints to gratitude, when you change that stress to peace, when you change that worry to joy, people will see it and they'll want to do whatever you're doing. And that's when you'll be able to say, it's all because of Jesus. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that you always flip the script on our attitudes. You give us the tools we need to change these attitudes. Whenever we're feeling worry, we pray today that we will cover it in peace. Whenever we want to argue or grumble, Lord, give us the joy and allow us to walk into every room we walk into today and shine your light like stars in the sky. And let us be a representation of you, Jesus. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

So there you have it, your five minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.