Being a Christian when you're in a terrible mood and the world's coming to an end

Christians aren't always in good moods. They aren't always having a good day. That's okay. But that doesn't stop you from being a Christian. Many times, the biggest blessings we receive are when we are faithful even when we don't feel like it.

One of my favorite guys in the Bible is Peter. I can really identify with him. My favorite story in the Bible about Peter is one that starts off, well, shall we say . . . .  terrible?

Peter and his buddies were fishing all night. They caught nothing.

This wasn't an ordinary fishing trip. This was like a salesman working an entire day and making no sales. An employee working an 8-hour shift and not getting paid.

He was in a terrible mood and the world was coming to an end. Otherwise known as having a bad day.

To Peter, no fish meant no food for his family that day. It meant no fish to take to market to sell, no income for the day. He was tired, mad, grumpy, and not in the mood to hear from anyone or anybody. In Luke 5, we find him washing the nets after this fishing disaster, and Jesus was teaching the crowds right beside him. The crowds get too big, so Jesus walks uninvited onto Peter's boat and tells him to put out a little ways from shore, so he can teach the people from the boat.

Oddly enough, Peter agrees. Why he agreed I have no idea. I certainly wouldn't take orders from a stranger when in a mood like that. But he does. He sits on the boat and listens to Jesus teach the crowd. After the teaching, Jesus tells Peter to go even further out, into the deeper waters.

Oddly enough, Peter does it. Jesus tells him to put his nets down. Oddly enough, Peter does it. Verse 6 tells us that as soon as he did, he caught so many fish that his nets began to break.

I think the point of this story is that God truly wants to bless us. Jesus wanted Peter to have the huge catch of fish- He wanted Peter to be able to provide for his family, to earn an income, and to have a return for his work. However, many times, blessings are only given when people are obedient first.

Blessings follow obedience.

Let's just suppose that Peter had not agreed to let Jesus teach from his boat, or had not agreed to go out to deeper waters, or had been too tired to put his nets down. Let's just suppose Peter had let his terrible mood get the best of him and he had quit. Gone home. Not done what Jesus said.

 He would have missed the blessing that God had in store for him. I wonder, in our lives, how many blessings we have missed because we simply weren't obedient to God's call?

Have we quit on the church? Maybe, like Peter, Jesus had a huge blessing for you if you had simply accepted His invitation to Sunday morning.

Have we stayed home instead of going on mission trips because we simply didn't want to? I wonder what blessings we have missed. Have we slept in on a Sunday morning because we were tired? Maybe God wanted to bless you that morning, and you simply weren't obedient. Does God want you to forgive someone or love someone that you can't stand? Learn the lesson from Peter's example- blessing follows obedience.

Is God calling you to a deeper prayer life? To study His Word more thoroughly? Is God trying to work on your heart to get rid of a sin that is so prevalent in your life? It is because He wants to bless you. I have no idea how He will bless you, or in what form that blessing will take, but one thing is for sure- blessing follows obedience.

Peter obeyed Jesus even when he was in a terrible mood, tired, frustrated, and busy. Sounds a lot like us. If he can do it, so can we. So, instead of my saying, "Be blessed," I am going to say "Be obedient," and leave the blessing up to God.