September 22, 2022

TRUST GOD AND GET GOING

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.

Philippians 1:20 NLT

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TODAY’S THOUGHT

If you are in a prison writing to believers asking them for prayers what would you ask? I must admit my prayer would probably be for deliverance from prison. But Paul’s hope was, “that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ.” A few years back I had the privilege to visit with a pastor from Iran. His stories of the struggles of believers in his home country were heart-breaking. When I asked how we could pray for them, his response was like Paul, “pray that we will continue to be bold in our time of persecution.” There was no cry for deliverance, freedom, or comfort. His cry was that the believers would remain bold in the face of persecution. Theologian J. I. Packer said, “The Christian motto should not be ‘let go and let God’ but trust God and get going.” Instead of throwing a pity party in our pain and suffering we must learn to trust God and do what we can where we are. Paul chose to write letters from prison that became a major part of our New Testament. I don’t believe Paul had this revelation that he was writing part of the Bible that would impact millions of people around the world for centuries to come. Paul was just trusting God and doing what he could where he was. In this process his life had a dramatic impact way beyond his earthly life. Difficult times are going to come. There will be times when the doctor reports are not good. We may find ourselves suddenly without a job. We may get a call from the police about our child. There are unexpected repair bills that drain our checking account. A loved becomes ill and dies. The list could go on and on of the possibilities of difficulties that can happen in life. There will be moments when it seems easier to give up. These are the moments we trust God and get going. When we feel like staying in bed and covering our head, we trust God and get going. When we feel like hiding from our situations, we trust God and get going. When we feel hopeless and there is no victory in sight, we trust God and get going. We do what we can and trust God for the rest. We can’t heal every sickness. We can’t replace every loss. We can’t solve every problem. But we can trust God and do what we can do. When we do what we can, God does what we can’t do. God can take letters written from prison and turn them into Holy Scripture that inspires and guides millions of people for hundreds of years. God can take our efforts and accomplish His kingdom work. Don’t complain about what you can’t do, rejoice in what you can do. Trust God and get going!

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TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit today I hand to You that which I can’t solve or fix. I specifically hand to You __________________. I fully trust You in this. I ask that You to show me what I can do. Empower me today to trust you and get going. Help me do today what I can.

“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”