[Wednesday's Devotional] - The Other Side

So we are growing in stature, understanding and belief.  All is going well.  No matter where we started we all know where we are going and where we will finish, don't we? Well DON'T WE?  Then why is it that when something goes wrong so many of us blame the one we say we love and trust?  Why did you do that?  Everything was fine until then, we were doing OK, so why didn't you leave things as they were?  We blame our wife or husband, or a workmate, or whoever happens to be handy.  It's seldom our fault and then often some of us blame God. How could you let that happen to me?  Haven't I always been true to you, always trying to please you?  And now this!

Hold on a minute. Surely we know that God wouldn't mess up our lives. But someone else would take great delight in seeing us suffer. We also know in our hearts that our partner would not deliberately mess things up for us and workmates, like us, could do without the hassle. You see it's not a simple stroll to get to where we want to be. Satan will take pleasure at putting all sorts of obstacles in our way, to make life difficult. And he knows when to dangle the juiciest carrots to tempt us to stray from the road we need to be on.

So pick yourself up, dust yourself down, and start all over again. And remember to thank the Lord for giving you the inner strength to do just that.

Lord, when we make mistakes or things go wrong help us to make that fresh start. Give us that inner strength to resist temptation and to trust you as the one who would do nothing to harm us. Thank you Lord.  Amen.

Jim Finch