God doesn’t want us to lay out our complaints for the world to see. To be a complainer in that manner – publically expressing dissatisfaction about our lives or about Him – not only spiritually and physically drains our souls; moreover, it hurts the cause of the kingdom.

After all, the kingdom preaches an offering of peace, joy, and patience. Complaining, or its kin, grumbling, runs counter to that. It’s unattractive. As a result, witnessing becomes ineffective.

By God’s grace, this doesn’t have to be. Powered by surrendering to His grace, we can be what God wants the world to see; that is, we can be His beacons of hope in this dark world, unstained by its corruptions. We can be doers of God’s will in Philippians 2: 14, 15 that says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent; children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

Therefore, although discontent and frustration may be keenly felt, we should be mindful of how we speak when around others. We should want our words, as much as possible, to minister, to edify, to be a blessing. It is much better to reserve our complaints for the times in which we privately speak to the Lord.

God can handle it. In fact, He’d very much like for us to keep in mind that He cares about our complaints; enough so, that He is more than willing to use His power on our behalf. That’s why He invites us to turn to Him with our gripes, troubles, and concerns (1 Peter 5: 6). If we do so (making for a great new year’s resolution), we’d be in the good company of many others who did just that. Among them are Moses, David, Job, and even Jesus.