Given July 31, 2007
As I read my devotion this morning, I received another aspect of a revelation the Lord had showed me previously. It has to do with “looking up”.
Heap O Trouble
Given December 22, 2007
Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world, you will have trouble“, and we can all agree this is true. We all have trouble of different kinds and magnitudes. I heard something the other day that made me think of troubles in a different way.
What if….a decree went out in your community to create a Heap of Troubles. This would be a voluntary thing and anyone who wanted to participate could bring their troubles to a pre-determined location and pile them up. This would go on for one week and, at the end of the week, all the troubles heaped up there would be divided into equal parts according to the number of people who had participated. These equal-sized troubles would then be re-distributed to all those involved. What do you think? Would you participate?
I can see a man with an armful of “troubles” coming up to the heap. As he begins to toss his problems onto the pile, another guy backs his pickup truck loaded with his troubles up to the pile. The first guy thinks, “Well, maybe my troubles aren’t so bad after all.” Do you get the point?
Many times, we think we have troubles and problems until we see someone else’s. Then ours don’t seem so bad. But, you know, God DOES have a program like this. He DOES want us to bring our troubles to Him and leave them there. But the good news is that they won’t get re-distributed back to us. God will take care of them all! “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7“. Now, notice that, “due time” part. Most of the time, we’ll still have to deal with the results of our bad decisions but God will be right there with us to take us through. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me. Psalms 23:4“.
Do you have any troubles? Toss them onto God’s heap then let Him direct your paths, Proverbs 3:5-6.
Something To Look Forward To
Given June 4, 2007
Think about a time in your life when you had something big coming up. I remember vacations as a kid. Man, the closer it’d get to the day we’d leave, the exciteder (is that a word?) I’d get. I looked forward to getting up early, getting in the car, and starting on our adventure. Even now, I find that if I have something to look forward to each week or each day, I can put up with the daily grind much better. When pressure, stress, or negative thoughts try to come on me, I just think about the good that’s coming up. ” By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2“.
There are those who might say, “Well, it’s so bad for me right now there’s nothing good in my life and no hope for the future.” Not so! God has a plan for each of us. “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Jeremiah 29:11 Amplified Bible“. Wow, is that something to look forward to? Spend time with God and let Him show you how to get in to this plan. He’ll show you how to overcome the bad and see some good out there.
We must not walk backwards into the future; longing for what’s behind, but looking forward to what’s ahead, even though we can’t see it yet. Remember the Hebrew nation? “If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11: 15-16“. Now let’s see…what do I have coming up?