Frustrated? Praise God!

Read 1 Peter 4:7-11

Context: In the previous verses, Peter has given advice for husbands and wives and he has given instructions on how to live for God.

Text:
7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

What was your first thought this morning when your alarm clock went off? Did you praise God that you had electricity and the means to awake whenever you chose? (By the way, you DID choose to wake up to the alarm clock...you set it, didn't you?).

Our alarm clock didn't go off this morning (well, it went off, but the sound was turned down so low that we didn't hear it). Doug gets up first, and as he rushed to the bathroom my first thought was not a very Christian attitude toward the clock. It seems to be letting us down a lot lately.

A lot of things seem to be letting us down -- gas prices, grocery prices, the weather, just to name a few. It is really easy to get caught up in the craziness of complaining about places we have to go, things we have to do, and prices that continue to rise. Oh, and then there's that getting older thing with it's aches and pains. If you look for the negatives in life, they are waiting right there at the door to overwhelm you.

But Peter tells us to praise God in ALL THINGS...that includes the fact that the cat threw up (yes Doug, she did that after you left...), that the mosquitoes are driving you crazy, and that you have to choose between spending your money on gasoline, medicine, or food. This goes a giant step further than Paul's advice to do all things without arguing or complaining. It's much easier to bite your tongue so a complaint doesn't get voiced than it is to speak praise for something you'd prefer to complain about.

So, our challenge for today is to bite back that complaint and actually praise God for everything -- the good and the bad!