The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States "HIDDEN BLESSINGS" for Friday, 3 June 2016 with Scripture Romans 5:1-5

The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States "HIDDEN BLESSINGS" for Friday, 3 June 2016 with Scripture 
Romans 5:1 So, since we have come to be considered righteous by God because of our trust, let us continue to have shalom with God through our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 2 Also through him and on the ground of our trust, we have gained access to this grace in which we stand; so let us boast about the hope of experiencing God’s glory. 3 But not only that, let us also boast in our troubles; because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope; 5 and this hope does not let us down, because God’s love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us.-------
We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.[Romans 8:28 (KJV)]
After months of procrastination, I went to a dermatologist to have a suspicious mole on my arm examined. To my surprise, the doctor wanted to biopsy another spot on my skin — one that hadn’t concerned me at all. When the results came back, the second site, rather than the first, had been diagnosed as early-stage melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Thankfully, the problem was discovered while it could be treated and before it had spread to other parts of my body.
I had prayed for the first mole to simply disappear without medical intervention; yet if God had answered my prayer, the serious health situation in the other spot would have gone undiscovered. The result could have been fatal.
So often we pray for the removal of circumstances that are difficult or challenging and we get frustrated when they persist. Instead, we can thank God for the good God will bring out of difficult circumstances. The result may be more favorable than we can see or imagine. We are blessed by God’s love and protection, even when we are unaware that a problem exists.
The Author: Elaine L. Bridge (Ohio, USA)
Thought for the Day: God can bring blessings out of difficult circumstances.
Prayer: Dear God, we thank you for seeing beyond our prayers and using negative circumstances in our lives to bring about a greater good. Amen.
Prayer focus: DERMATOLOGISTS

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