The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “From Bondage to Joy" for Tuesday, 20 January 2015 - Scripture: Romans 8:28-31

The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “From Bondage to Joy" for Tuesday, 20 January 2015 - Scripture: Romans 8:28 We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.[a] They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, 29 and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so that his Son would be the first of many children. 30 God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them.
God’s Love
31 What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us?[Footnotes:
8.28 God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him: Or “All things work for the good of everyone who loves God” or “God’s Spirit always works for the good of everyone who loves God.”]
Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.[Psalm 126:6 (NIV)]
Michael grew up in a close, loving family; yet, in high school he began using drugs. After struggling for some time with addiction, he had recently completed rehabilitation and seemed to be on the right track. Then Michael showed signs of a relapse. One afternoon, he went downstairs and turned on his music. Michael was later found dead; he was 23. Those who knew him were heartbroken by this senseless loss.
The service celebrating Michael’s life was packed. Many of those attending were youth who were with him during his last rehab; they had believed his would be a success story. At the graveside service, I spoke with a mother whose son was still struggling with addiction; her son was devastated by Michael’s death. He expressed it this way: “Only with God’s help can I ever be free from this!”
With this in mind, we turn to scripture for comfort. Psalm 126:6 reminds us that in times of grief, God will provide us with strength, joy, and healing — allowing us to bear fruit for God’s kingdom.
Read more from the author, here.
"Remembering"
UR Family,
Michael was my son’s brother-in-law, and his loss in December 2012 still hurts.  Something Randy (Michael’s dad) said recently, really struck me:  ‘Upon further reflection, we would like you to send along the attached photo for the blog.  We sometimes feel that people have an image of someone who dies of a drug overdose. Michael, and many others, do not fit that image.’  Stereotypes are empty placeholders we assign to each joy or tragedy in life we’ve never experienced.  Michael struggled with drugs, but this picture also captures Michael, as does the posthumous Bachelor’s degree awarded to his family the spring after his death; he carried a 3.9+ GPA. 
Does knowing details of a person’s life make it easier for us to understand how this could happen?  It helps make it personal.  My prayers: As Randy, Jeanne, their two daughters and extended family continue to go out bearing seed, I pray their seed will find fertile soil, and God will bless and strengthen their call to overcome.[Dan Nelson (December 2014)]
Dan,
We appreciate that you were led to submit this devotion.  We are fine with using the name "Michael".  We are also willing to submit the following blog post:
We gave our son Michael, the Max Lucado short story book "You are Special" as a confirmation present when he was 13 years old.  We had forgotten that we had bought this book for him, but he had it with him nine years later during his first trip to the hospital to go through detox.  After struggling through three rehab programs, Michael's life came to a tragic ending 18 months later.  At the funeral, the pastor discussed the book and even read the last chapter.  The message of the book is that you shouldn't allow this world to make you feel unworthy; the only thing that matters is what God thinks, and he thinks you are very special, because he made you and you are his.  Many young adults from Michael's rehab groups attended the funeral and heard this message.
We have now given out over 200 books to people who are going through similar struggles to Michael's.  While we believe that this is our mission to allow something good to come out of something so horrible, life is still such a struggle for us as bereaved parents. The loss of a child is a horrible tragedy and, it is not true that each day gets a little better until you are healed.  Rather, each morning we face a fork in the road:  one path is using the book and the message to help others while honoring the memory of our son; the other path is allowing our sinful human nature including self-pity, anger and jealousy to rule.  Some days we take the right path and the following day we take the sinful path.  Our hope and prayer is that, over time, we will choose the right path more often than not.[Randy and Jeanne (December2013)]
The Author: Dan Nelson (North Carolina, USA)
Thought for the Day: Only God can give us an abundant life.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to pray believing that even through tears and broken hearts, all things come together for good for those who love you. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those seeking freedom from substance abuse
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