The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "The Benefit of the Present" for Friday, 20 January 2017 with Scripture Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 When things are going well, enjoy yourself;
but when things are going badly, consider
that God made the one alongside the other,
so that people would learn nothing of their futures.
15 In my pointless life, I’ve seen everything —
from the righteous person perishing in his uprightness
to the wicked one who lives a long life
and keeps on doing wrong.
16 So don’t be overly righteous or overly wise;
why should you disappoint yourself?
17 But don’t be overly wicked, and don’t be foolish;
why should you die before your time?
18 Don’t grasp just one of these rules;
take hold of the other as well;
for he who is in fear of God
will live by both of them.
-------
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.[Ecclesiastes 7:14 (NIV)]
On a Friday afternoon, I was driving along Interstate 95 outside of Washington, D.C., when I came upon a flashing alert sign that read: “Traffic ahead next 2 miles.” I thought,
Really? You have to tell me that? It’s a Friday afternoon on I-95. Of course there’s traffic!
The next message on the sign appeared: “Watch for stopped. . .” Now it made sense. The entire message couldn’t be displayed on one sign, so the two halves alternated; I had read the second half of the message first. I thought,
How funny! Even if God were to show us our future, it wouldn’t make sense to us without the benefit of the present. It would be like getting the second half of the message first.
I thought of Ecclesiastes 7:14. I have always struggled with wanting to know how situations are going to work out, especially when I’m going through a difficult time. But God made it clear to me: Even if God were to show us what the future holds, the future wouldn’t make sense to us until we had experienced today, the present, leading up to it. When we are worried or anxious about the future, we can remember God’s promise to be with us always.
The Author: Sheyanne Armstrong (Virginia, USA)
Thought for the Day: I cannot add days to my life through worrying. (See Matt. 6:27.)
Prayer: Dear God, give us peace and joy today, even if we are uncertain about the future. Amen.
Prayer focus: Commuters
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 When things are going well, enjoy yourself;
but when things are going badly, consider
that God made the one alongside the other,
so that people would learn nothing of their futures.
15 In my pointless life, I’ve seen everything —
from the righteous person perishing in his uprightness
to the wicked one who lives a long life
and keeps on doing wrong.
16 So don’t be overly righteous or overly wise;
why should you disappoint yourself?
17 But don’t be overly wicked, and don’t be foolish;
why should you die before your time?
18 Don’t grasp just one of these rules;
take hold of the other as well;
for he who is in fear of God
will live by both of them.
-------
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.[Ecclesiastes 7:14 (NIV)]
On a Friday afternoon, I was driving along Interstate 95 outside of Washington, D.C., when I came upon a flashing alert sign that read: “Traffic ahead next 2 miles.” I thought,
Really? You have to tell me that? It’s a Friday afternoon on I-95. Of course there’s traffic!
The next message on the sign appeared: “Watch for stopped. . .” Now it made sense. The entire message couldn’t be displayed on one sign, so the two halves alternated; I had read the second half of the message first. I thought,
How funny! Even if God were to show us our future, it wouldn’t make sense to us without the benefit of the present. It would be like getting the second half of the message first.
I thought of Ecclesiastes 7:14. I have always struggled with wanting to know how situations are going to work out, especially when I’m going through a difficult time. But God made it clear to me: Even if God were to show us what the future holds, the future wouldn’t make sense to us until we had experienced today, the present, leading up to it. When we are worried or anxious about the future, we can remember God’s promise to be with us always.
The Author: Sheyanne Armstrong (Virginia, USA)
Thought for the Day: I cannot add days to my life through worrying. (See Matt. 6:27.)
Prayer: Dear God, give us peace and joy today, even if we are uncertain about the future. Amen.
Prayer focus: Commuters
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment