Today's Word
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Our Lord is so good, He grants us many blessings. We can see Him in the daily course of events, in our homes, our jobs, our lives. I pray that these words help you to grow in your faith and recognize His hand in even the most mundane circumstances.
The picture to the right is of a Celtic Chapel located in Cornwall England. This building is approximately 1700 years old, and contains a holy well known for its healing powers.
(Click for enlarged)
“Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity. Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.” Ecclesiastes 11:7-10, WEB
Someone I know had a really bad day. Well, I suspect many of us have had similarly bad days in our lives. We all deal with health issues, car accidents, financial problems, disagreements. Sometimes we get caught up in the issues of the day that create tension with people we know, even people we love. Bad weather sets us on edge. Sometimes it takes just the smallest thing to make a day really, really bad, but it really wasn’t just that one thing. It was more likely a thousand little things that led up to that moment when the day became bad. We can handle just so much until we finally break.
And then it becomes difficult to praise God. We’ve all had a moment or two in our lives when we have said “woe is me.” “Why me?” we ask. We wonder why these things go wrong. We think we deserve better because we have done good works or kindnesses for our neighbors. Shouldn’t God bless me because I gave food to the food bank or mowed my elderly neighbor’s yard? Why should I suffer ill health or financial difficulty when I give generously of my time and resources? We let those little things build up in our hearts and when the moment comes that we break, we forget the millions of blessings that God has provided for us throughout our lives.
This is why we are to live a life of rejoicing. Our pastor (and I’ve seen others encourage the same practice) has asked us to write down three good things every day. We are to thank God for those things. They don’t have to be anything special. Today I wrote that I was thankful for air conditioning. I was having a less than wonderful weekend a few weeks ago, struggling with a situation that had me on edge. Through the practice of joyful thanksgiving, I found positive aspects about it. I praised God for the good things. I made opportunities to do good things for those who had caused me pain. It didn’t change the situation; it changed my outlook. I could have responded to the hurt with more hurt, but that would not have made anything better. I could have asked God, “Why me?” That wouldn’t have helped either. Instead, I looked for the lesson. I looked for God’s grace. I looked for a way that might change the situation for someone else in the future. I also looked for my own fault in the situation.
The teacher in Ecclesiastes encourages his students to rejoice, to let their hearts cheer them. We are to remember that God sees even our hearts and all that we do. He knows our struggles. He knows our pain. He has promised to be with us through them. “Woe is me” is nothing but vanity, but “Praise be to God” will always keep us on the right path. We will have good days, and we will have days of darkness, but when we rejoice every day, we’ll realize that good can come out of the bad as we grow in faith and trust that God will always make all things right.
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“Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there shall it be. He who observes the wind won’t sow; and he who regards the clouds won’t reap. As you don’t know what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child; even so you don’t know the work of God who does all. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don’t withhold your hand; for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good.” Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, WEB
We once decorated a newly planted tree in our yard with plastic Easter eggs. It was just beginning to take root, with leaves just beginning to poke from the tips of the branches. The eggs offered color on the nearly bare trees. It looked a little silly, but made us happy in the days leading up to Easter.
One day I noticed a bird in the tree. He had a strange look on his face as he hopped from branch to branch, looking at the eggs. I wondered what he was thinking, but he was obviously trying to figure out what those colorful things were. Were they food? Were they a strange flower with nectar? He finally found a branch and egg that he could reach to get a closer look. He pecked at the egg all of a sudden and was taken aback when it was hard and swung back at him. He hopped into a few more branches and then flew away. The eggs were useless to him, but he would never have discovered that if he had not tested one with his beak. Those eggs might have been something good to eat and the only way to find out was to adventure forth and try.
I can’t say I’m terribly adventurous. I do try new things sometimes, but usually only after careful deliberation. Take restaurants, for instance. My husband and I will talk about a new restaurant, often saying “We should try that the next time we go out,” every time we see it. Then, when we do go out, we are always in the mood for one of our favorites. “Next time,” we think. We waited so long for one restaurant, that we noticed it had gone out of business before we got around to trying it. We often find, when we get around to trying that new place, that we really like it. Several restaurants have become our new favorites because we stepped out of our comfort zone and tried something new.
I’m sure we aren’t the only ones who get stuck in old routines. We have recently been thinking about the way we use our resources, asking the question, “Is this the best way to glorify God with our money?” We are generous and have been very consistent with some of our donations. I know when it is time to write a certain check or purchase in-kind gifts; it has become a habit. I don’t think twice. Yet, I’ve recently realized that there are so many other places that can use our gifts. We have had to think about whether or not we are truly glorifying God with our habits, or whether He is calling us to something new. It is hard to make the decision. Can we be sure about the new charity?
I was thinking about this situation when I read “Cast your bread upon the waters,” in today’s scripture quotation. This seems silly. Bread on water will melt away and disappear. Or it will be eaten by fish or birds. Yet, the teacher says, “You will find it after many days.” The point that the teacher is making is that we should not be afraid that we will be wasting our bread by casting it upon the waters, but that God will use it according to His good and perfect will. “Give a portion to seven, yes even to eight.” We are not to worry that what we are doing, but to step out of our comfort zone and try something new because God can make good things happen out of our courage. There is so much we don’t know, but if we listen to God and trust in Him, we’ll see amazing things happen.
There are so many wonderful things for us to do in this world, however we often avoid doing them because we do not know what it might be like. We reject new groups of people, new activities, new restaurants, thinking they will be useless. We keep doing the same old thing because it is comfortable, not knowing what a blessing something new might be for us. When we reject new things outright, we miss out on the adventure and we lose out on so many good things. We do need to deliberate about our actions as we move forward, because there are reasons to be cautious, but God has called us to be like the birds, venturing forth in faith that He is with us and will guard us through any misadventures. When we trust in God and let go of ourselves, we find that He returns our faith with many blessings. If we stick to only what we know, we may find that it will fail eventually. But when we try new things and spread out our gifts, we will see success in something even if another thing fails.
The following links provide some specially chosen scripture that tell the stories of the Birth and Passion of our Lord as Savior Jesus Christ, as well as a fictional perspective of the Crucifixion. Spend time in God's Word, read about His life and learn of the wonderful gifts He has for you. Know Jesus Christ and honor Him today. Thanks be to God.
The Story of our Savior's Passion
The Crucifixion, a fictional perspective
When researching, I use several versions of the bible, including the New International Version and English Standard Version. Due to copyright restrictions, I have not included quotes for the scriptures on some of the archives, but highly encourage you to open your own bibles to read the scripture passages for yourselves. Where scripture is quoted, it is usually the American Standard Version or World English Bible which belong to the public domain. Any other versions used in quotes are identified.
The devotion posted on Wednesday is based on the Lectionary texts used by millions of Christians each Sunday. The Lectionary consists of four texts: an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a passage from one of the Epistles and a Gospel text and follows the church calendar. Archives for these writings are found at Midweek Oasis.
You are welcome to use these words to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you these gifts, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring them to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom you've shared it. Peggy Hoppes
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