Giving Thanks Verses Complaining

1 Chronicles 23 - King David is getting ready to give the kingdom to his son Solomon and so he is putting some thing in order.  He realizes the tribe of Levi will no longer need to move the tabernacle from place to place as the new temple will soon be built.  So he assigns roles for the different families of the descendants of Levi and Moses.  

Here is the breakdown - 38,000 total men of age in the tribe of Levi.  24,000 will supervise the work a the Temple, 6,000 will serve as officials and judges, 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the Lord with musical instruments.  Talk about about a band and choir!  

Verse 30 - and each morning and evening they stood before the Lord to sing songs of thanks and praise to him.

Starting our day and ending our day with a song of praise and thanks to God is a simple way to help all the middle of our day stay in focus with the mission of God in our lives! 

We all have a natural inclination to complain.  When I am around certain people I find it easy to complain about certain things.  I believe we all need some time to vent our feelings and emotions about difficult people and situations; but I also believe there is a line when we cross over from venting to just complaining.  

The power to overcome complaining and bitterness is in our ability to praise and thank God for all the good we have in our lives and all that God is doing.