- Looking
- Unto the
- Cross.....
A devotional for day 30 of
LENT
Tuesday, April 11
You know it's going to be a bad day when:
* You jump out of bed in the morning and you miss the floor.
* Or when you wake up in the morning and your dentures are locked together.
* You put both contact lens in the same eye.
* You walk to work on a summer morning and find the bottom of your dress is stuck in your panty hose.
You know it's going to be a bad year when:
* Your personal computer threatens to tell all.
* Your 14-year-old daughter insists Jesus never preached against pierced noses.
* Upon arriving home from a week in the Bahamas, you can't find your Bible with six months of Sunday school plans tucked inside.
* Your church treasurer says, "The IRS called me the other day about some of your donation totals."
The children of Israel might have been saying, "You know it's going to be a bad year when Pharaoh takes away your straw for making bricks... Or when you're up against the Red Sea with no bridge and the Egyptians are hard on your trail."
We all face discouraging times. The question is, How will we handle them? Will we be like the Israelites and gripe and complain about every tough situation we face? Or will we trust God and believe that He knows what's best for us?
I didn't want to be single. True, my marriage had been far from perfect, but I still liked being married. I had always dreamed of being married and having children. Michael and I weren't able to have children. Just as we were getting ready to apply to adopt, we found out he had cancer. We decided not to apply.
Now, I had been single for two years. My life had changed drastically. I had moved from my beautiful, spacious three-bedroom home to a tiny one-bedroom duplex. I had dated some, but those relationships had gone nowhere. Michael and I had fought a lot and even separated a couple of times, but we managed to work through the worst of our differences. Divorce wasn't in our vocabularies, although we had come close. We had promised "until death do us part" and now death had parted us.
I liked having someone to share my life with, but now there was no one. Not even a boyfriend. Or children. I was lonely and discouraged. I was not only having a bad day, I was having a bad year!
I cried and prayed. I asked God, "Why?" The answer I got came from Isaiah "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? (Isaiah 43:18-19a NIV) No, I couldn't perceive it, but I came to the point that I was willing to surrender my desires for His. He had given His life for me. As I looked into the face of Jesus, I realized the least I could do in return was follow where He led me. If that meant being single for the rest of my life, then that was okay with me.
I began to really enjoy being single. The next year was not a bad year, but a very good one. Oh, I still wanted to be married, but I kept hanging on to the promise He had given me that He was at work. I was willing to wait and see what unfolded as His plan for me. In the meantime, I was enjoying life and yes, I began to date again.
That was twelve years ago. Marriage was a part of God's plan for me, but my life has gone in directions that I never could have imagined. I have a wonderful husband that I now co-pastor with. We are also "professional" (foster) parents. We have had teenagers and we have had newborns in our home. What a blessing they have been to us.
So, what do we do when we become discouraged? When all seems hopeless and we think we can't go on anymore? What do we do when we’re tempted to turn back to the slavery of sin? We go, instead, to the cross. We look into the face of the One who endured ridicule and shame, who was beaten until He was no longer recognizable. The One who had a crown of thorns placed on His head and ultimately was put to death in one of the cruelest fashions known to mankind -- the agonizing death of a cross. A death that was reserved for the worst of sinners.
And, we remember... He didn't stay there! Resurrection Day is coming! The One who bore our shame triumphed over sin and death and rose again victorious! Hang in there, discouraged one! Christ has bought your victory! It will come! Just keep looking into His face!
Rev. Betty Bolerjack
Charleston, MO, USA
Prayer
Father
Thank you so much for being the "God of the Second Chance." I need that. You have abundantly and overwhelmingly provided that. And so, just as I have needed you in the past, I know that I will need you today. Thank you for the assurance that you will always be there. Thank you Abba Daddy.
Amen
[Psalms 121, 122, 123] [Exod. 5:1-6:1] [I Cor. 14:20-40] [Mark 9:42-50]
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Edited: Mar. 15, 11:00 a.m.
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Prayer by: Joe Hittle
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