Next Steps Devo – February 2
Wait a second, I thought we were onto the good news portion of the story now. Hang in there. We are.
But, let’s ponder how quickly, in a season of prosperity, we begin to measure ourselves and our life’s value, for that matter, with the stuff we can collect and the comfort it provides. Then adversity comes, and we just as quickly run to despair, anger, cynicism, and hopelessness. Interestingly, prosperity seems to always be our fault; suffering, on the other hand, somebody or someone else is to blame for that. There are likely many moments in life when this assertion is true, but for the believer, it is dangerous if not downright sinful. Controversial (but true) statement ahead warning; none of us has ever caused our own prosperity, nor have we made ourselves deserving of “divine favor.”
You certainly may work hard, harder than anyone else you know even, but that work is done with a body and brain that were a gift to you. Let’s call it Santa syndrome. Everyone is concerned about the big guy, his coming, his list, and his cookies right up until the first present becomes visible in the living room. It is at that moment that focus shifts off the giver and to the gift. God is a God who blesses ALL of us with immeasurably more than we could ever comprehend, but if we aren’t careful, blessings harden hearts and shift focus inward to self.
Often God’s graces come in the form of suffering that seems insurmountable. This statement is not to belittle your pain, quite the contrary. Our passage and hopefully this reading today remind you that God is always working, and His plans never falter. Trust Him. Surround yourself with people that testify to His goodness.
Why doesn’t our gratitude during seasons of suffering seem to match our outrage during suffering? What do our lives indicate we truly believe we “deserve”?
Let’s pray: God, I am sorry. I am so quick to curse you and so slow to thank you. Forgive me for doubting your goodness. Help me to remember the story you have already written in my life. I can trust that in good and bad, you are molding me into who you want me to be, and I thank you that in that, you are producing a greater joy in my life. Increase my humility so that I may enhance the amount that my life glorifies your name. Amen.