No Whining - Choose Joy!

When I arrived at school last week, someone had placed a "No Whining" sign on my desk.  No whining?  Now, I can whine with the best of 'em. Why, it's one of the most effort-less things to do.  Who would think of taking away such an important function of the day! I'm sure there's a support group: "Whiners Anonymous" or "Recovery for Whiners" or "Twelve Steps To Freedom from Whining."  But give up whining cold-turkey? Is that even possible? The children of Israel (a famous bunch of whiners) ended up in bondage a second time.  It seems God simply had enough of their rebellion, disobedience, and yes ... whining. He once again sought to teach them to joyfully trust Him so He sent the prophet Jeremiah to them with these words: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:5-7)  God intended they make their captivity home and they be content there. Here in a heathen land, God's chosen people could choose joy or sorrow -- the choice was totally theirs.  What kind of God would the heathen people see in the faces of God's chosen race? A favorite Christian humorist is Barbara Johnson, and she writes, "Pain is inevitable, misery is optional."  [Please excuse me Mrs. Freeman but ain't that the truth! In this life, we're not promised much in the way of happiness.  It's true, we know moments of joy ... even years of it perhaps.  God is the Giver of life -- good & easy,  bad & hard.  What kind of God do others see in our faces each day?  Do they see a God who brings joy in pain, laughter in sorrow, peace in trouble?  Do those around use see or hear constant whining and discontent?  How do we portray our God?  For sure, they're watching and listening; for sure ... we are His face, His eyes, His hands, His voice! When we can smile at adversity, laugh at trouble, be joyful in spite of everything -- we're showing off our God!  We're letting the world know God is bigger than our circumstances and we know it in a big way!  Choose joy - it looks good on you!