To Him be the glory...

"If 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." ~ 1 Peter 4:11

Rather than saying whatever we want, Peter reminds us that our words and actions are reflective of God. 

People see us Christians as people of God, which we all are, and that should be motivation enough to have our words and actions glorify Him. 

Someone may see our actions or hear our words and turn away from God or maybe turn towards Him depending on what we portray Christianity as. 

So, keep this in mind the next time you are about to act or speak foolishly. Changing your ways may change a life.

Surrender

"Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, 

for I have put my trust in You.

Show me the way I should go, 

for to You I lift up my soul.

Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, 

for I hide myself in You.

Teach me to do Your will,

for You are my God;

may Your good Spirit

lead me on level ground.

For Your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life;

in Your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

In Your unfailing love, silence my enemies;

destroy all my foes,

for I am Your servant." 

~Psalm 143:8-12

When I feel like I am drowning in a sea of homework, chores, work, choir, friendships, church, life... I need to let it all go. 

I NEED to give it all to Him. 

He looks down upon me as I lay awake thinking, pondering my life and what I should do next. 

It saddens Him when I try to do everything on my own. 

He is there for me. He is there for YOU! Why just sit here struggling to even start the next task when you can drop everything and run to His arms? 

Exactly. There is no real reason why other than the fact that you need to feel that control, you want to know what comes next, His power scares you. No, it terrifies you. 

Why would you want to let go when you're doing so well? Think for a minute. 

I'm in that spot, too. I know what you're feeling. God is there for us. We don't have everything under control. It ISN'T going well. Life has pulled the rug out from under us as we try to keep out balance with everything in life. 

When I read this passage today, I felt guilt. I have been keeping all of my troubles from God. No, I haven't hid anything from Him, I just haven't surrendered it all. I may have given a piece here or a bit there, but I haven't given Him everything. And that is my problem. I need to be like David. I need to tell God that I am His servant, that I need his unfailing love, that I cannot do this without Him. 

God is there for me and He is there for you. Why wait and try to hold on for another moment when He has His hand outstretched to you? 

Just give it to Him. 

Surrender.