DEVOTIONALS

      Life may change, but we are anchored by an unchanging God. We ask ourselves in every season of change “where do I go from here?” Going through a new season or chapter of life is a natural and inevitable part of living. As Christians we walk into new seasons with the faith that it will all work out according to God’s purpose. He is constantly changing and shaping us to serve and to know Him more deeply through the changes we encounter daily. 

     We can lean on the Biblical story of Abraham who was saved through his faith in God’s promise that he would become the father of many nations even though he and Sarah, his wife, were very old and past the age of childbearing. Abraham was completely convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. We know from reading the Bible and from our own lives that sometimes the fulfillment of God’s promises may take many years to happen. We still maintain our hope and conviction that God will do what God has promised just like Abraham kept his faith and belief .
     Romans 4:16 says “the promise comes by faith so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only those who are of the law but also those who have the faith of Abraham.” We are those who have the faith of Abraham.

     While waiting for God’s promises to unfold, feelings of inadequacy sometimes surface. Feeling like we can’t wait or that we can’t accomplish what God has called us to do because of our limitations such as old age. Abraham and Sarah were extremely old when they had their first child. When God challenges us beyond our abilities, we have a choice: will we focus on Christ and move forward in faith or focus on ourselves and withdraw in defeat? God never asks us to do anything without giving us everything we need to accomplish the task. Moving forward after the loss of loves ones, or a job, or a home are just some things we have to move past. He doesn’t require that we move forward perfectly but He does require that we try to move forward in obedience. Every step no matter how small is a victory and God applauds our efforts for each small step as well as our large leaps of faith.
    Psalm 66:5 says “come and see the works of God, who is awesome in His deeds”. Look at what He has done to help you move past illness, death, loss, and adversity and see His hands moving in the lives of His children. 

      Dear God: ma you give us the strength, courage, and purpose to follow Your lead in our faith so that we are prepared to follow You no matter where You are taking us. Give us the patience and conviction that Your promises do come true. Remind us often of all that Abraham and Sarah’s story teaches us about faith, obedience, and trust so that we can move forward one step at a time without looking back. Help us to stop living in memories because not every old day was a golden day and You, God, are not trapped in the past and You are beckoning us forward to a better life than what we have had. AMEN

In Romans 8:28, Paul says God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purposes.  This means that God is with us in the wonderful, the terrible and all the in-between times of our days.  Sometimes just thanking God for a bad day is a reminder that this particular day is not the end of the story, that maybe God will redeem what was  bad in ways we cannot imagine.  Our faith includes our gratitude always even in the bad and not-so-good times as well as the good times.  Let us rejoice and be glad that today is the day God has made for us and that we will be thanking God all day long for everything in this day--even the broken things and the hard things because we survived them.