Daily Devotionals
Monday, August 12, 2024 (Mary Ann)
When life isn’t fair ….
Ever since we were three and older siblings got to stay up late, or when we were six and didn’t get that pony for Christmas, we’ve been stomping our feet in frustration, knowing that life isn’t fair. And that it ought to be!
Now that our feet have gotten bigger, so have our issues with unfairness. So we wrestle with relationship conflicts and disappointments. Workplace issues. Financial problems. Health concerns. And oh so many more.
But because we’re followers of the one true God, shouldn’t our lives be beds of roses?
Well apparently beds of roses without thorns aren’t guaranteed … or even to be desired … especially for us. Remember John 16:33? “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.”
So what do we do when we’re chin-deep in unfair?
I say we grab on to the second half of that verse: “But take heart! I have overcome the world!”The message here is that while God doesn’t cause unfairness or suffering, he promises …
God will be with us through it all. Isaiah 41:10 reads, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God will increase our strength as we humbly depend on him. In 2 Corinthians, Paul says he begged God to take away the “thorn in the flesh” that plagued him. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
God will use our problems to minister to others. Because our goal is to demonstrate the love and comfort of God to others, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tells us, “Praise be to the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
God will give us hope and strength as he walks us through it all. “But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.” Isaiah 40:31
So believe me dear Sisters, I’m all for soaring on eagles’ wings but let me tell you, I can get so weary! What I’ve been learning lately is that God, in his loving kindness, has also gifted us with each other for strength, prayer and encouragement. So please reach out and remember, we really are better together! And all God’s daughters said _________!
Mary Ann
Ever since we were three and older siblings got to stay up late, or when we were six and didn’t get that pony for Christmas, we’ve been stomping our feet in frustration, knowing that life isn’t fair. And that it ought to be!
Now that our feet have gotten bigger, so have our issues with unfairness. So we wrestle with relationship conflicts and disappointments. Workplace issues. Financial problems. Health concerns. And oh so many more.
But because we’re followers of the one true God, shouldn’t our lives be beds of roses?
Well apparently beds of roses without thorns aren’t guaranteed … or even to be desired … especially for us. Remember John 16:33? “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.”
So what do we do when we’re chin-deep in unfair?
I say we grab on to the second half of that verse: “But take heart! I have overcome the world!”The message here is that while God doesn’t cause unfairness or suffering, he promises …
God will be with us through it all. Isaiah 41:10 reads, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God will increase our strength as we humbly depend on him. In 2 Corinthians, Paul says he begged God to take away the “thorn in the flesh” that plagued him. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
God will use our problems to minister to others. Because our goal is to demonstrate the love and comfort of God to others, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tells us, “Praise be to the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
God will give us hope and strength as he walks us through it all. “But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.” Isaiah 40:31
So believe me dear Sisters, I’m all for soaring on eagles’ wings but let me tell you, I can get so weary! What I’ve been learning lately is that God, in his loving kindness, has also gifted us with each other for strength, prayer and encouragement. So please reach out and remember, we really are better together! And all God’s daughters said _________!
Mary Ann
