The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “An Unlikely Offering" for Wednesday, 25 March 2015 - Scripture: Psalm 142:1-7

The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “An Unlikely Offering" for Wednesday, 25 March 2015 - Scripture: Psalm 142: (0) A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer:
2 (1) With my voice I cry to Adonai,
with my voice I plead to Adonai for mercy.
3 (2) Before him I pour out my complaint,
before him I tell my trouble.
4 (3) When my spirit faints within me,
you watch over my path.
By the road that I am walking
they have hidden a snare for me.
5 (4) Look to my right, and see
that no one recognizes me.
I have no way of escape;
nobody cares for me.
6 (5) I cried out to you, Adonai;
I said, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
7 (6) Listen to my cry,
for I have been brought very low.
Rescue me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
The psalmist wrote, “I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.”[Psalm 142:2 (NIV)]
One day while on break at work, I was worrying about some health problems I was facing. Angry about these problems, I realized that I had been complaining. I considered giving these concerns to God but then had second thoughts. Several scriptures make it plain that God doesn’t want to listen to a complaining spirit. (See Num. 11:1, Phil. 2:14, 1 Pet. 4:9.) However, I started unloading my concerns to God anyway. No one else was there to hear my complaints, and I needed release.
Then a strange thing happened. I had expected to feel God’s displeasure, but instead I felt peace. The tension I had experienced just a few minutes before had disappeared. I felt God was pleased, not with my complaining but with my willingness to trust God enough to express even the unpleasant things in my life.
Before this experience, I thought of an “offering” as money I put into a collection plate at church. That particular day at work the only “offering” I had to give to God wasn’t pleasant. But God — in grace, mercy, and compassion — accepted it and showed me that my offerings of trust are valued.
The Author: Peggy Booher (Pennsylvania, USA)
Thought for the Day: God wants to hear the good and bad of our lives.
Prayer: O God, we thank you that in trusting you with the difficult things in our lives we find peace, hope, and healing. Amen.
Prayer focus: Someone Facing A Health Problem

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