You rejoice, though now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Pet. 1:6-7
Heavenly Father, I need this attitude-check passage, on this April Tuesday. I’ve been indulging a low-grade irritation for a few days, and I’m ready to shake it. I’m embarrassed to even speak of my irritants as “trials,” because I didn’t go to sleep hungry or thirsty last night. I didn’t hear gunfire echoing through my neighborhood, and there’s no medical plague pillaging my community.
I don’t live with the fear of my loved ones being sold into slavery, or a government demanding I renounce my faith in Jesus. These are realities with which many of our brothers and sisters in Christ live on a daily basis.
For me, the “trials” I have are more like hungry mosquitoes buzzing around my head—nibbling away at my joy, energy, and peace. But I still need your grace, Father. Help me and my friends honor you in the daily-ness of life. May we love well among fellow sinner-saints who also have common stressors, whine-able stories, and normal irritants.
Help us keep a core of peace when our cars won’t start, our kids can’t sleep, or traffic is too slow; when people don’t say “thank you,” pets pee on the carpet, and flights are delayed; when the dry-cleaners lose a shirt, the dew-point creeps up, or a stock goes down.
Father, in all the ordinary disappointments and to-be-expected inconveniences of life, we want to honor you. We want to be kind, not crusty; “rolling with the punches,” not rolling our eyes. By your grace, turn our gripes into gratitude, and our irritation into adoration. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ tender and triumphant name.