The Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide "Suffering" for Wednesday, 12 February 2014 - Read Psalm 121

The Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide "Suffering" for Wednesday, 12 February 2014 - Read Psalm 121: A Song of Ascents.
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills.
    Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from Yahweh,
    who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved.
    He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 Yahweh is your keeper.
    Yahweh is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.
7 Yahweh will keep you from all evil.
    He will keep your soul.
8 Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in,
    from this time forward, and forever more.
Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.--Romans 5:3-5 (NRSV)
“You have a brain tumor.” Hearing those words was a surreal experience. My two seizures had led doctors to discover a benign tumor in my brain just before my sophomore year of college. The four years since my diagnosis have been hard. Doctor visits, medications, tests, insomnia, weight gain, and frustration have filled my days. But God has given me the strength to face each new day. Cards, e-mail, phone calls, visits, and prayers have helped me to understand how blessed I am. I am not alone. I thought I had the “Jesus thing” figured out. I grew up in a Christian home, attended church, taught Sunday school, and joined a Christian fellowship in college. But struggling with illness showed me the glory of God more than ever before. Through suffering, we can learn to rely on God and to trust God’s plans for us in a new way. We can shine God’s light on other people, talking to them about the strength we find in Christ. No one wants to experience hardship, but we can trust God to be present with us always.--The Author-Katie Sweigart (Pennsylvania, USA)
Thought for the Day: Through hardship we can learn to trust God more fully.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, when we face difficult times, reassure us of your love, remind us that you will never leave us, and help us to trust in your will. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those with life-changing health issues
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