God doesn’t always expect us to be cheery. In fact, it is evident from scripture that God welcomes lament and even complaint as legitimate responses to the hardships of life. The difference is that whiners always find a way to whine, regardless of circumstance.
Whiners always find reason to whine. And those whose lives are marked by gratitude always find reason to give thanks. It is clear which kind of person God expects us to be.
Taken from the United Church of Christ devotional, God Is Still Speaking: 365 Daily Devotionals, ed. Christina Villa (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2013), 231.